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THE  ART   OF    LANDSCAPE- 
GARDENING 


c 


The  Art  of 
LANDSCAPE 
GARDENING 

By  f|ump|)rp  ^epton  Esq^ 

Including  his  SKETCHES  AND  HINTS 
ON  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING  and 
THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  LAND- 
SCAPE GARDENING 

Edited  by  JOHN  NOLEN,  A.M. 

Member  of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects 


BOSTON  AND  NEfV  TORK 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 

C^c  Kitjcroilic  prcsfs,  CambriUffe 

MDCCCCVII 


COPYRIGHT    1907   BY   HOUGHTON,    MIFFLIN  AND   COMPANY 
ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 


Published  November  iqcfj 


This  is  the  first  volume  of  a  series  of  classics  in 
Landscape  Architecture  which  has  been  under- 
taken at  the  suggestion  and  with  the  cooperation 
of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects 


88852 


Table  of  Contents 


INTRODUCTION 


XV 


SKETCHES  AND  HINTS  ON  LAND- 
SCAPE GARDENING 


Preface. 

Some    General   Remarks    about 

Landscape  Gardening 

3 

Chap. 

I. 

Different  Characters  and  Situa- 

tions 

7 

Chap. 

II. 

Buildings 

17 

Chap. 

III. 

Proper   Situations  for  a  House 

23 

Chap. 

IV. 

Water 

32 

Chap. 

V. 

Large  Private  Places 

38 

Chap. 

VI. 

Formal  Gardening 

43 

Chap. 

VII. 

Approaches 

49 

Chap. 

VIII. 

.  Affnity   betwixt   Painting    and 

Gardening 

53 

Chap. 

IX. 

Sources  of  Pleasure    in   Land- 

scape Gardening 

58 

Contents 


THE  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF 

LANDSCAPE  GARDENING  63 

Preface.     Some    General    Observations    on 

Taste  65 

Chap.  I.      Introduction  —  General  Principles 

—  Utility  —  Scale  —  Examples 
of  Comparative  Proportion  —  Use 

of  Perspective  7 1 

Chap.  II.  Ground  apparently  altered  by  the 
Situation  of  the  Spectator —  Re- 
fections from  the  Surface  of  Water 
explained  and  applied —  Different 
Effects  of  Light  on  Different 
Objects  84 

Chap.  III.  Water — Its    General   Treatment 

—  Art  must  deceive  to  imitate 
Nature  —  Water  at  Wentworth 
described — A  River  easier  to 
imitate  than  a  Lake  91 

Chap.  IV.  Planting  —  Immediate  and  Future 
Effect  —  Clumps  —  Groups  — 
Masses  —  The  Browsing-Line  de- 
scribed—  Combination  of  Masses  to 
produce  Great  Woods  —  Character 
and  Shape  of  Ground  to  be  studied 

—  Outline  of  New  Plantations         i  o  3 


Contents 


Chap.  V.         Woods  —  Intricacy  —  Variety 

—  A  Belt  —  On  thinning 
Woods  —  Leaving  Groups  — 
Opening  a  Lawn  in  Great 
Woods  1 1 6 

Chap.  VI.       Fences — T^he  Boundary — The 

Separation  1 27 

Chap.  VII.  Farm  and  Park  Distinct  Ob- 
jects —  Beauty  and  Profit  seldom 
compatible  1 36 

Chap.  VIII.  Pleasure-Grounds  —  F lower- 
Gardens —  Greenhouses  and  Con- 
servatories—  Various  Modes  of 
attaching  them  to  a  House  142 

Chap.  IX.  Landscape  Gardening  and  Paint- 
ing —  Pictures  may  imitate  Na- 
ture^ but  Nature  is  not  to  copy 
Pictures  148 

Chap.  X.        Ancient  and  Modern  Gardening 

—  Change  of  Style  —  Art  and 
Nature  considered  160 


Chap.  XI.  Endless  Variety  of  Situation  and 
Character  —  First  Impressions 
— Roads  —  Entrances — Adap- 
tation of  Ornamental  Buildings   171 


Contents 


Chap.  XII.  Architecture  and  Gardening  in- 
separable— Forms  and  Arrange- 
ments of  Different  Eras  — 
Change  in  Customs  alters  Uses 
of  Rooms  190 

Chap.  XIII.  Formation  of  a  new  Place  — 
Application  of  Gardening  and 
Architecture  —  Characteristic 
Architecture — How  far  it  should 
prevail  internally  208 

Chap.  XIV.  Conclusion  —  Concerning  Colour 
—  Diffculty  of  Comparisofis  be- 
twixt Art  and  Nature  217 

NOTES  221 


List  of  Plates 


Frontispiece,    View  from  Reptons  Cottage  in  Es- 
sex {before  and  after  improvements) 

Plate  I.  Illustrating  Classic  and  Gothic  Ar- 

chitecture  in  contrast  with  round- 
headed  and  pointed  trees 

Plate  II.  Chores  by  {from  a   photograph  by 

r.  W,  Sears) 


Plate  III.  The  effect  of  removing  trees  in  the 

oblique  view  of  an  avenue  at  Lang- 
ley  Park 

Plate  IV,  'Thoresby —  The  Deer  Park  {from 

a  photograph  by  T.  W.  Sears) 

Plate  V,  Castle  Hill,  shewing  the  effect  of 

cattle  to  mark  the  extent  of  a  lawn 
which  slopes  from  the  eye 

Plate  VI.  Lathom  —  View  from    the    house, 

shewing  the  effect  of  removing  the 
pond,  which  is  so  near  the  eye  that 
its  glare  prevents  the  lawn  from 
being  seen  beyond  it 

Plate  VII.         The  Thames,  from  Pur  ley:  Morning 
The  Thames,  from  Pur  ley  :  Evening 


20 


23 


26 


42 


46 


xii 

List  of  Plates 

Plate  VIII. 

Clumber  House  [from  a  photograph 

by  r.  TV.  Sears) 

91 

Plate  IX. 

Water  at  JVentworth,  Yorkshire 

100 

Plate  X. 

Sherwood  Forest    [from   a  photo- 

graph by  T.  W.  Sears) 

103 

Plate  XI. 

The  Browsing-Line 

108 

Plate  XII. 

View  from  the  house  at  Shardeloes 

118 

Plate  XIII. 

Map  of  Buls trade 

120 

Plate  XIV. 

Farm  and  Park 

138 

Plate  XV. 

Flower-Garden^  Valley  Field 

144 

Plate  XVI. 

Blaize  Castle^  enlivened  by  a  cottage 

in  the  distance 

182 

Plate  XVII. 

Plans  of  houses  of  various  dates 

192 

Plate  XVIII, 

.  Michel  Grove^  Sussex 

196 

Plate  XIX. 

Ashton  Court 

208 

Plate  XX. 

Map  of  Bay  ham 

210 

Plate  XXI. 

General  View  of  Bay  ham 

212 

Plate  XXII. 

Plan  of  Bay  ham 

•214 

List  of  Figures 


Fig.     I.    Illustrating  the  shape  of  the  ground  at 

Stanmore  8 

Fig.     1.    Illustrating  the  shape  of  the  ground  at 

Erandsbury  9 

Fig.     3 .    Sections  to  shew  the  manner  of  adapting 

houses  to  different  natural  shapes  of  ground     29 

Fig.    4.    Diagram  to  shew  the  use  of  the  human 

figure  as  a  scale  for  measuring  objects  73 

Fig.     5.    Diagram  76 

Fig.     6.    Diagram  78 

Fig.  7.  View  from  Wentworth  House,  before  it 
was  improved,  and  while  the  improve- 
ments were  going  forward  80 

Fig.  8.  View  from  Wentworth  House,  shewing 
the  effect  intended  to  be  produced  by  the 
proposed  alterations  82 

Fig.  9.  Diagram  85 

Fig.  10.  Diagram  87 

Fig.  II.  Diagram  88 

Fig.  12.  Diagram  88 


xiv 

List  of  Figures 

Fig.  13. 

Artificial  Scenery 

105 

Fig.  14. 

Natural  Scenery 

106 

Fig.  15. 

Diagram 

no 

Fig.  16. 

Diagram 

no 

Fig.  17. 

Diagram 

nz 

Fig.  18. 

Diagram 

134 

Fig.  19. 

Diagram 

134 

Fig.  20. 

Diagram 

'35 

Fig.  21. 

Scene  in  the  grounds  at  Attingham 

^SS 

Fig.  11. 

Stoke  Park,  Herefordshire 

180 

Fig.  23. 

Gothic  Cottage 

181 

Fig.  24. 

Examples  of  a  plan  for  an 

extended  front 

on  the  steep  side  of  a  hill  202 

Fig.  25.  Villa  at  Br  entry  Hill,  shewing  specimens 
of  economy  with  compactness  adapted  to  its 
situation,  character,  and  uses  203 

Fig.  26.    Ground-plan  of  Villa  at  Brentry  Hill  204 

Fig.  27.    Diagram  246 

Fig.  28.    Diagram  251 


Introduction 


HUMPHRY  REPTON  was  born  at  Bury 
Saint  Edmunds,  England,  May  2,  1752, 
and  died  at  Harestreet,  Essex,  March  24,  1818. 
The  period  covered  by  his  Ufe  is  in  many  respects 
the  most  important  in  the  history  of  landscape 
gardening.  It  is  true  that  the  reaction  from  the 
absurdities  and  excesses  of  formal  gardening  and 
the  awakening  to  the  beauty  and  value  of  a  natural 
rural  landscape  came  before  his  time.  Addison 
and  Pope  were  the  most  influential  of  the  literary 
advocates  of  this  great  change,  and  William  Kent 
and  his  successor  "  Capability  "  Brown  were  the 
practical  men  who  applied  the  new  ideas  to  the 
country-places  of  England,  often  indeed  ruthlessly 
destroying  formal  grounds  of  great  beauty  in  the 
zeal  of  a  somewhat  unbalanced  reaction.  But  it 
is  to  the  period  of  Repton  and  the  work  of  Rep- 
ton  himself  that  we  must  look  for  the  sound 
and  rational  development  of  the  so-called  land- 
scape school  of  England,  a  school  whose  influence 
spread  rapidly  to  the  Continent  of  Europe  and 
whose  principles  still  control  the  treatment  of 
large  areas  in  the  informal  or  naturalistic  style. 

This  change  in  taste  was  not  confined  to  gar- 
dening.   It  manifested  itself  in  all   the  artistic 


Introduction 


expressions  of  the  period.  It  was  due  to  the  move- 
ment called  "romanticism,"  the  renaissance  of 
wonder.  In  almost  innumerable  ways  the  world  ac- 
quired a  new  power  of  appeal  and  response  to  man. 
The  glory  of  lake  and  mountain  and  meadow, 
the  exquisite  grace  of  childhood,  the  dignity  and 
worth  of  manhood,  the  intrinsic  interest  of  the 
commonplace,  —  to  these  and  to  other  influences 
of  a  similar  character  mankind  became  sensitive. 
Romanticism  was  in  truth  an  extraordinary  devel- 
opment of  imaginative  sensibility,  and  the  centre 
of  the  movement  in  England  lay  in  its  various, 
intimate,  and  subtle  interpretations  of  the  world 
of  nature.  Through  it  nature  became  to  man  an 
inexhaustible  resource.  Therefore  the  conditions 
were  ready  and  the  time  was  ripe  for  such  ideals 
of  landscape  gardening  as  those  held  and  advo- 
cated by  Repton. 

The  work  of  Repton  as  landscape  gardener  is 
one  of  the  most  notable  achievements  in  that  pro- 
fession. He  has  to  his  credit  the  creation,  trans- 
formation, or  improvement  of  over  two  hundred 
important  places.  His  clients  were  in  all  parts  of 
England  and  included  men  of  nearly  every  degree 
and  station.  And  to  appreciate  the  scope  of  Rep- 
ton's  practice  we  must  call  to  mind  the  extent 
and  character  and  marvellous  beauty  of  the  typical 
English  country-place  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
It  included  not  only  all  that  is  best  in  the  private 
places  of  our  own  time,  but  also  the  adequate  setting 


Introduction 


for  buildings  of  great  size,  corresponding  to  public 
buildings  in  the  present  day,  and  the  creation  of 
the  type  of  scenery  that  is  characteristic  of  mod- 
ern "rural"  or  "country  "  parks.  Without  doubt 
the  most  suggestive  ideals  for  the  public  parks  of 
our  own  great  cities,  ideals  that  have  impressed 
themselves  upon  the  most  distinguished  landscape 
architects  since  Repton's  day,  are  to  be  found  in 
the  "  park  "  or  informal  pleasure-grounds  of  a  v^^ell- 
to-do  Englishman's  estate.  These  "  parks  "  were 
extensive  in  area,  usually  including  from  one  to 
a  thousand  acres,  and  possessed  all  the  interest  and 
charm  of  beautiful  natural  scenery  enhanced  and 
perfected  by  discriminating  art. 

Repton's  knowledge  of  nature  and  command 
of  the  processes  of  art  were  not  superficial.  Nature 
he  knew  at  first  hand.  He  was  himself  a  nature- 
lover.  Before  becoming  a  landscape  gardener  he 
was  a  "country  gentleman."  But  he  was  also  an 
artist,  gifted  with  what  he  repeatedly  refers  to 
as  "good  taste";  and  by  study  and  experience 
he  added  to  his  natural  gifts.  His  profession  to 
him  was  primarily  an  opportunity  for  design,  — 
design  based  alike  upon  an  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  peculiar  local  situation  and  conditions  and 
upon  the  fundamental  principles  of  art  and  the 
laws  of  nature.  He  knew  well  the  meaning  and 
value  of  such  art  principles  as  are  suggested  by 
the  words  proportion,  variety,  intricacy,  harmony, 
and  unity.   One  quotation  will  illustrate  his  point 


Introduction 


of  view.  Speaking  of  intricacy  he  says  :  **  The  eye, 
or  rather  the  mind,  is  never  long  delighted  with 
that  which  it  surveys  without  effort,  at  a  single 
glance,  and  therefore  sees  without  exciting  curios- 
ity or  interest.  It  is  not  the  vast  extent  of  lawn,  the 
great  expanse  of  water,  or  the  long  range  of  wood, 
that  yields  satisfaction  ;  for  these,  if  shapeless,  or, 
which  is  the  same  thing,  if  their  exact  shape,  how- 
ever large,  be  too  apparent,  only  attract  our  notice 
by  the  space  they  occupy;  to  fill  that  space  with 
objects  of  beauty,  to  delight  the  eye  after  it  has 
been  struck,  to  fix  the  attention  where  it  has  been 
caught,  to  prolong  astonishment  into  admiration, 
are  purposes  not  unworthy  of  the  greatest  designs." 
He  could  not  be  accused  of  mere  imitation,  for, 
instead  of  attempting  to  reproduce  the  effects  of 
nature  in  a  mechanical  or  artificial  way,  he  aimed 
rather  to  put  in  action  the  causes  by  which  those 
effects  are  produced.  Then,  as  he  said,  the  effects 
would  be  natural.  But  Repton  was  also  a  practi- 
cal man.  He  appreciated  the  principle  of  utility. 
He,  like  his  American  successor,  Olmsted,  had 
no  sympathy  with  a  design  that  did  not  provide 
adequately  and  frankly  for  the  plain  necessities 
of  human  living.  Half-hearted  compromises  did 
not  meet  his  favour ;  nevertheless  he  took  pains 
to  reconcile  these  necessary  and  artificial  features 
with  the  artistic  aims  of  the  design  as  a  whole. 

Repton's  most  permanent  contribution  to  his 
art,  however,  is  to  be  found  not  in  his  works  of 


Introduction  xix 


landscape  gardening,  but  in  his  writings  on  that 
subject.  Neither  among  his  predecessors  nor  suc- 
cessors has  there  been  a  man  of  equal  genius  and 
experience  who  has  left  such  a  substantial  body  of 
opinion  behind  him.  This  is  the  result  partly 
of  his  desire  permanently  to  lift  his  chosen  pro- 
fession to  a  higher  plane,  and  partly  of  his  sys- 
tematic methods  of  work,  which  made  it  possible 
for  him,  even  in  the  midst  of  a  very  active  practice, 
to  prepare  material  for  publication.  He  speaks  of 
his  writings  as  "  observations  tending  to  establish 
fixed  principles  in  the  art  of  landscape  garden- 
ing." His  profession,  he  contended,  should  not  be 
founded  upon  caprice  and  fashion.  This  view  is 
wellexpressedinhis  dedication  to  King  George  III 
of  his  first  book,  "  Sketches  and  Hints  on  Land- 
scape Gardening,"  in  which  he  says:  "  If  it  should 
appear  that,  instead  of  displaying  new  doctrines  or 
furnishing  novel  ideas,  this  volume  serves  rather 
by  a  new  method  to  elucidate  old  established 
principles,  and  to  confirm  long  received  opinions, 
I  can  only  plead  in  my  excuse  that  true  taste, 
in  every  art,  consists  more  in  adapting  tried  ex- 
pedients to  peculiar  circumstances  than  in  that 
inordinate  thirst  after  novelty,  the  characteristic 
of  uncultivated  minds,  which  from  the  facility  of 
inventing  wild  theories,  without  experience,  are 
apt  to  suppose  that  taste  is  displayed  by  novelty, 
genius  by  innovation,  and  that  every  change  must 
necessarily  tend  to  improvement." 


Introduction 


Repton's  important  writings  are  based  upon 
his  unique  *'  Red  Books."  When  asked  for  his 
opinion  concerning  the  improvement  of  a  place 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  deUvering  it  in  writing, 
bound  in  a  small  book,  which  contained  maps, 
plans,  and  sketches  to  explain  and  illustrate  the 
work  or  alterations  proposed.  This  he  called  the 
"  Red  Book  "  of  the  place.  More  than  two  hun- 
dred such  books  were  prepared  by  him  in  the 
course  of  his  extensive  practice.  Therefore  his 
published  works,  comprising  as  they  do  the  most 
valuable  material  of  the  "  Red  Books,"  are  not 
mere  theories  of  landscape  gardening ;  they  re- 
present the  permanent  results  of  his  experience. 
Not  only  from  their  substance  are  they  of  value, 
but  from  their  form  also.  They  were  written  and 
illustrated  not  for  his  professional  colleagues,  but 
for  his  clients.  Thus  they  have  a  wider  appeal. 
They  are  free  from  technical  terms  and  from 
small  and  relatively  unimportant  details.  The 
only  limitation  upon  the  value  of  these  writings 
is  an  inevitable  scrappiness  and  repetition  due  to 
their  origin  and  the  conditions  under  which  they 
were  prepared  for  publication.  As  he  quaintly 
observes  in  the  preface  to  his  most  valuable  book, 
"The  Theory  and  Practice  of  Landscape  Gar- 
dening," "the  whole  of  this  work  has  been 
written  in  a  carriage  during  professional  journeys 
from  one  place  to  another,  and  being  seldom  more 
than  three  days  together  in  one  place,  the  diffi- 


Introduction 


culty  of  producing  this  volume,  such  as  it  is,  can 
hardly  be  conceived  by  those  who  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  stationary  retirement  or  a  permanent 
home."  To  an  unusual  degree  Repton's  books 
state  his  own  theory,  relate  his  own  practice, 
record  his  own  ideals.  They  are  the  basis  upon 
which  he  wished  posterity  to  judge  him,  for  he 
says :  **  It  is  rather  upon  my  opinions  in  writing 
than  on  the  partial  and  imperfect  manner  in  which 
my  plans  have  sometimes  been  executed,  that 
I  wish  my  fame  to  be  established."  The  present 
volume  is  published  to  supply  the  demand  for 
Repton's  counsel.  It  is  issued  under  the  title  of 
"The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening," and  contains 
his  two  best  works :  "  Sketches  and  Hints  on 
Landscape  Gardening,"  published  in  1795,  and 
"The  Theory  and  Practice  of  Landscape  Gar- 
dening," published  in  1803.  These  two  books, 
reprinted  and  illustrated  in  modern  form  and 
edited  the  better  to  serve  modern  conditions, 
constitute,  it  is  believed,  one  of  the  most  valuable 
works  in  English  upon  the  principles  of  laying- 
out  ground. 

To  make  his  designs  intelligible  Repton  found 
that  a  mere  map  or  plan  was  insufficient;  it  could 
no  more  convey  an  idea  of  the  landscape  than  the 
ground-plan  of  a  house  could  of  its  elevation. 
To  remedy  this  deficiency  he  invented  a  method 
of  showing  the  proposed  improvements  by  means 
of  two  illustrations  or  slides,  as  he  called  them, 


Introduction 


one  imposed  upon  the  other.  These  were  usually 
in  colour,  the  upper  one  representing  the  scene 
as  it  existed  and  the  under  one  the  scene  as  pro- 
posed. His  object,  he  said,  was  "  not  to  produce 
a  book  of  pictures,  but  to  furnish  some  hints  for 
establishing  the  fact  that  true  taste  in  landscape 
gardening,  as  well  as  in  all  the  other  polite  arts, 
is  not  an  accidental  effect,  operating  on  the  out- 
ward senses,  but  an  appeal  to  the  understanding, 
which  is  able  to  compare,  to  separate,  and  to  com- 
bine the  various  sources  of  pleasure  derived  from 
external  objects,  and  to  trace  them  to  some  pre- 
existing cause  in  the  structure  of  the  human 
mind."  It  did  not  seem  feasible  nor  indeed  neces- 
sary to  include  in  this  volume  all  the  illustra- 
tions in  Repton's  works,  but  those  shown  have 
been  selected  with  discrimination  to  enforce  the 
main  points  in  his  philosophy  of  landscape  art. 
These  are  supplemented  by  a  few  recently  taken 
photographs  of  English  country-places,  the  im- 
provement of  which  was  outlined  over  a  century 
ago  by  Repton  himself. 

Repton  and  his  work  occupy  a  unique  and  per- 
manently important  place  in  the  history  of  land- 
scape gardening.  He  came  at  a  time  of  significant 
development  in  his  profession,  and  by  his  native 
genius  and  attainments  he  secured  the  patronage 
of  all  England.  He  had  opportunity  to  work  out 
his  ideas  and  ideals  under  unusually  congenial 
conditions.   Le  Notre  himself,  with  the  support 


Introduction 


and  favour  of  Louis  XIV,  scarcely  surpassed  him 
in  opportunity.  He  became  the  medium  for  the 
practical  expression  of  all  that  was  best  in  the 
"  new  "  gardening,  and  he  showed  himself  capable 
at  the  same  time  of  respecting  and  preserving 
what  was  most  worthy  in  the  old  or  formal  style. 
He  was  not  an  iconoclast.  His  taste  was  catholic. 
In  discussing  the  two  schools  he  says :  "  I  do  not 
profess  to  follow  either  Le  Notre  or  Brown,  but, 
selecting  beauties  from  the  style  of  each,  to  adopt 
so  much  of  the  grandeur  of  the  former  as  may 
accord  with  a  palace,  and  so  much  of  the  grace 
of  the  latter  as  may  call  forth  the  charms  of  nat- 
ural landscape.  Each  has  its  proper  situation,  and 
good  taste  will  make  fashion  subservient  to  good 
sense."  Repton  possessed  exquisite  refinement  of 
taste,  without  reaching  the  point  of  fastidiousness. 
He  displayed  considerable  ingenuity  in  meeting 
peculiar  problems,  and  a  sympathetic  knowledge 
of  the  necessities  of  a  convenient  and  comfortable 
home.  His  pleasant  personality,  goodness  of  heart, 
and  amiability  undoubtedly  helped  his  professional 
success.  But  the  most  significant  contribution  that 
remains  for  this  and  subsequent  generations  is  his 
careful  and  complete  statement  in  writing  of  the 
principles  that  he  found  fundamental  in  his  long 
and  instructive  practice  as  a  landscape  gardener. 

John  Nolen. 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  June,  1907. 


I 

SKETCHES    AND    HINTS   ON 
LANDSCAPE-GARDENING 


Preface 


TO 

SKETCHES   AND  HINTS 


TO  improve  the  scenery  of  a  country,  and  to  dis- 
play its  native  beauties  with  advantage,  is  an  art 
which  originated  in  England,  and  has  therefore  been 
called  English  gardening;  yet  as  this  expression  is  not 
sufficiently  appropriate,  especially  since  gardening,  in 
its  more  confined  sense  of  horticulture,  has  been  like- 
wise brought  to  the  greatest  perfection  in  this  country, 
I  have  adopted  the  term  landscape  gardening,  as 
most  proper,  because  the  art  can  only  be  advanced  and 
perfected  by  the  united  powers  of  the  landscape  painter 
and  the  practical  gardener.  The  former  must  conceive 
a  plan,  which  the  latter  may  be  able  to  execute ;  for 
though  a  painter  may  represent  a  beautiful  landscape 
on  his  canvas,  and  even  surpass  nature  by  the  com- 
bination of  her  choicest  materials,  yet  the  luxuriant 
imagination  of  the  painter  must  be  subjected  to  the 
gardener's  practical  knowledge  in  planting,  digging, 
and  moving  earth;  that  the  simplest  and  readiest  means 
of  accomplishing  each  design  may  be  suggested;  since 
it  is  not  by  vast  labour,  or  great  expense,  that  nature  is 
generally  to  be  improved  ;  on  the  contrary, 

"  Insult  not  Nature  with  absurd  expense. 

Nor  spoil  her  simple  charms  by  vain  pretence  ; 
Weigh  well  the  subject,  be  with  caution  bold. 
Profuse  of  genius,  not  profuse  of  gold. ' ' 


Preface 


If  the  knowledge  of  painting  be  insufficient  without 
that  of  gardening,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mere  gardener, 
without  some  skill  in  painting,  will  seldom  be  able  to 
form  a  just  idea  of  effects  before  they  are  carried  into 
execution.  This  faculty  of  foreknowing  effects  consti- 
tutes the  master  in  every  branch  of  the  polite  arts  ;  and 
can  only  be  the  result  of  a  correct  eye,  a  ready  concep- 
tion, and  a  fertility  of  invention,  to  which  the  professor 
adds  practical  experience. 

But  of  this  art,  painting  and  gardening  are  not  the 
only  foundations:  the  artist  must  possess  a  competent 
knowledge  of  surveying,  mechanics,  hydraulics,  agri- 
culture, botany,  and  the  general  principles  of  architect- 
ure. It  can  hardly  be  expected  that  a  man  bred  and 
constantly  living  in  the  kitchen-garden  should  possess 
all  these  requisites ;  yet  because  the  immortal  Brown ' 
was  originally  a  kitchen-gardener,  it  is  too  common  to 
find  every  man  who  can  handle  a  rake  or  spade  pre- 
tending to  give  his  opinion  on  the  most  difficult  points 
of  improvement.  It  may  perhaps  be  asked  from  whence 
Mr.  Brown  derived  his  knowledge?  —  the  answer  is 
obvious  :  that,  being  at  first  patronised  by  a  few  persons 
of  rank  and  acknowledged  good  taste,  he  acquired, 
by  degrees,  the  faculty  of  prejudging  effects;  partly 
from  repeated  trials,  and  partly  from  the  experience 
of  those  to  whose  conversation  and  intimacy  his  genius 
had  introduced  him  :  and  although  he  could  not  design, 
himself,  there  exist  many  pictures  of  scenery,  made 
under  his  instruction,  which  his  imagination  alone  had 
painted. 

Since  the  art  of  landscape  gardening  requires  the 
combination  of  certain  portions  of  knowledge  in  so 
many  different  arts,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  professors 


Preface  5 


of  each  should  respectively  suggest  what  is  most  ob- 
vious to  their  own  experience ;  and  thus  the  painter, 
the  kitchen-gardener,  the  engineer,  the  land-agent,  and 
the  architect  will  frequently  propose  expedients  differ- 
ent from  those  which  the  landscape  gardener  may  think 
proper  to  adopt.  The  difficulties  which  I  have  occa- 
sionally experienced  from  these  contending  interests 
induced  me  to  make  a  complete  digest  of  each  subject 
proposed  to  my  consideration,  affixing  the  reasons  on 
which  my  opinion  was  founded,  and  stating  the  com- 
parative advantages  to  the  whole  of  adopting  or  re- 
jecting certain  parts  of  any  plan.  To  make  my  designs 
intelligible,  I  found  that  a  mere  map  was  insufficient; 
as  being  no  more  capable  of  conveying  an  idea  of  the 
landscape  than  the  ground-plan  of  a  house  does  of  its 
elevation.  To  remedy  this  deficiency,  I  delivered  my 
opinions  in  writing,  that  they  might  not  be  miscon- 
ceived or  misrepresented  ;  and  I  invented  the  peculiar 
kind  of  slides  to  my  sketches,  some  of  which  are  here 
reproduced. 

Such  drawings,  to  shew  the  proposed  effects,  can 
be  useful  but  in  a  very  few  instances  ;  yet  I  have  often 
remarked,  with  some  mortification,  that  it  is  the  only 
part  of  my  labours  which  the  common  observer  has 
time  or  leisure  to  examine  ;  although  it  is  the  least  part 
of  that  perfection  in  the  art,  to  which  these  hints  and 
sketches  will,  I  hope,  contribute. 

I  confess  that  the  great  object  of  my  ambition  is 
not  merely  to  produce  a  book  of  pictures,  but  to  furnish 
some  hints  for  establishing  the  fact  that  true  taste  in 
landscape  gardening,  as  well  as  in  all  the  other  polite 
arts,  is  not  an  accidental  effect,  operating  on  the  out- 
ward senses,  but  an  appeal  to  the  understanding,  which 


Preface 


is  able  to  compare,  to  separate,  and  to  combine,  the 
various  sources  of  pleasure  derived  from  external 
objects,  and  to  trace  them  to  some  pre-existing  causes 
in  the  structure  of  the  human  mind. 


Chapter  I 

'Different  Characters  and  Situations 


ALL  rational  improvement  of  grounds  is,  necessar- 
ily, founded  on  a  due  attention  to  the  character 
and  situation  of  the  place  to  be  improved :  the  former 
teaches  what  is  advisable,  the  latter  what  is  possible, 
to  be  done ;  while  the  extent  of  the  premises  has  less 
influence  than  is  generally  imagined  ;  as,  however  large 
or  small  it  may  be,  one  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  landscape  gardening  is  to  disguise  the  real  boundary. 

In  deciding  on  the  character  of  any  place,  some  at- 
tention must  be  given  to  its  situation  with  respect  to 
other  places ;  to  the  natural  shape  of  the  ground  on 
which  the  house  is  or  may  be  built ;  to  the  size  and 
style  of  the  house,  and  even  to  the  rank  of  its  possessor  ; 
together  with  the  use  which  he  intends  to  make  of  it, 
whether  as  a  mansion  or  constant  residence,  a  sporting- 
seat,  or  a  villa  ;  which  particular  objects  require  distinct 
and  opposite  treatment.  To  give  some  idea  of  the  vari- 
ety that  abounds  in  the  characters  and  situations  of 
different  places,  it  will  be  proper  to  insert  a  few  speci- 
mens from  different  subjects  :  I  shall  begin  this  work, 
therefore,  by  a  remarkable  instance  of  situation,  only 
two  miles  distant  from  the  capital. 

Brandsbury "  is  situated  on  a  broad  swelling  hill,  the 
ground  gently  falling  from  the  house  (which  looks  on 
rich  distances)  in  almost  every  direction.  Except  a  very 
narrow  slip  of  plantation  to  the  north,  two  large  elms 
near  the  house,  and  a  few  in  hedge-rows  at  a  distance. 


8  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

the  spot  is  destitute  of  trees  :  the  first  object,  therefore, 
must  be  to  shelter  the  house  by  home  shrubberies ;  as 
on  land  of  such  value  extensive  plantations  would  be 
an  unpardonable  want  of  economy. 

No  general  plan  of  embellishment  can,  perhaps,  be 
devised  which  is  more  eligible  than  that  so  often 
adopted  by  Mr.  Brown,  viz.  to  surround  a  paddock 
with  a  fence,  enclosing  a  shrubbery  and  gravel  walk 
round  the  premises :  this  idea  was  happily  executed  by 
him  at  Mr.  Drummond's  delightful  place  near  Stan- 
more  ;  but  as  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  follow  the 
same  plan  at  Brandsbury,  without  considering  the  dif- 
ference of  the  two  situations,  I  shall  beg  leave  to  explain 
myself  by  the  following  sections  and  remarks. 

Where  the  natural  shape  of  the  ground  is  concave, 
as  that  at  Stanmore  [Fig.  i],  nothing  can  be  more  desir- 


ThePale  The  Pale 


Fig.  I.  Illustrating  the  shape  of  the  ground  at  Stanmore. 

able  than  to  enrich  the  horizon  by  plantations  on  the 
highest  ground,  and  to  flood  the  lowest  by  a  lake  or 
river :  in  such  a  situation  the  most  pleasing  scenes  will 
be  within  the  pale,  looking  on  the  opposite  rising  bank 
fringed  with  trees,  or  occasionally  catching  distant  views 
over  or  beyond  the  fence. 

On  the  contrary,  if  the  natural  shape  be  convex,  any 
fence  crossing  the  declivity  must  intercept  those  distant 
views  which  an  eminence  should  command,  and  which 


Different  Characters  and  Situations  9 

at  Brandsbury  are  so  rich  and  varied  that  nothing  can 
justify  their  total  exclusion.  A  walk  round  a  paddock 
in  such  a  situation,  enclosed  by  a  lofty  fence,  would  be 
a  continual  source  of  mortification  ;  as  every  step  would 
excite  a  wish  either  to  peep  through,  or  look  over,  the 
pale  of  confinement. 

ThePale  ^^  TkePale 

Fig.  2.    Illustrating  the  shape  of  the  ground  at  Brandsbury. 

Where  all  the  surrounding  country  presents  the  most 
beautiful  pasture-ground,  instead  of  excluding  the  vast 
herds  of  cattle  which  enliven  the  scene,  I  recommend 
that  only  a  sufficient  quantity  of  land  round  the  house 
be  enclosed  to  shelter  and  screen  the  barns,  stables, 
kitchen-garden,  offices,  and  other  useful  but  unpleasing 
objects  ;  and  within  this  enclosure,  though  not  contain- 
ing more  than  ten  or  twelve  acres,  I  propose  to  conduct 
walks  through  shrubberies,  plantations,  and  small  se- 
questered lawns,  sometimes  winding  into  rich  internal 
scenery,  and  sometimes  breaking  out  upon  the  most 
pleasing  points  for  commanding  distant  prospects :  at 
such  places  the  pale  may  be  sunk  and  concealed,  while 
in  others  it  will  be  so  hid  by  plantation  that  the  twelve 
acres  thus  enclosed  will  appear  considerably  larger  than 
the  sixty  acres  originally  intended  to  be  surrounded  by 
a  park  pale. 

The  present  character  of  Rivenhall  Place  is  evidently 
gloomy  and  sequestered,  with  the  appearance  of  being 
low  and  damp.  The  interference  of  art  in  former  days 
has  indeed  rendered  the  improvement  and  restoration 


The  Art  of  Landscape  G 


ARDENING 


of  its  natural  beauties  a  work  of  some  labour ;  yet,  by- 
availing  ourselves  of  those  natural  beauties,  and  dis- 
placing some  of  the  encumbrances  of  art,  the  character  of 
the  place  may  be  made  picturesque  and  cheerful,  and 
the  situation,  which  is  not  really  damp,  may  be  so  man- 
aged as  to  lose  that  appearance.  The  first  object  is  to 
remove  the  stables,  and  all  the  trees  and  bushes  in  the 
low  meadow,  which  may  then  with  ease  be  converted 
into  a  pleasing  piece  of  water,  in  the  front  of  the  house. 
In  its  present  state,  two  tall  elms  are  the  first  objects 
that  attract  our  notice ;  from  the  tops  of  these  trees  the 
eye  measures  downwards  to  the  house,  that  is  very  in- 
distinctly seen  amidst  the  confusion  of  bushes  and  build- 
ings with  which  it  is  encumbered  ;  and  the  present  water 
appearing  above  the  house,  we  necessarily  conclude  that 
the  house  stands  low :  but  instead  of  this  confusion,  let 
water  be  the  leading  object,  and  the  eye  will  naturally 
measure  upwards  to  the  house,  and  we  shall  then  pro- 
nounce that  it  no  longer  appears  in  a  low  situation. 

However  delightful  a  romantic  or  mountainous 
country  may  appear  to  a  traveller,  the  more  solid  ad- 
vantages of  a  flat  one  to  live  in  are  universally  allowed; 
and  in  such  a  country,  if  the  gentle  swell  of  t,he  ground 
occasionally  presents  the  eye  with  hanging  woods,  dip- 
ping their  foliage  in  an  expanse  of  silvery  lake,  or  softly 
gliding  river,  we  no  longer  ask  for  the  abrupt  precipice 
or  foaming  cataract.  Livermere  Park  possesses  ample 
lawns,  rich  woods,  and  an  excellent  supply  of  good-col- 
oured water  :  its  greatest  defect  is  a  want  of  clothing  near 
the  house,  and  round  that  part  of  the  water  where  the 
banks  are  flat ;  yet,  in  other  parts,  the  wood  and  water 
are  most  beautifully  connected  with  each  other. 

Milton  Park.  Where  the  ground  naturally  pre- 
sents very  little  inequality  of  surface,  a  great  appearance 


Different  Characters  and  Situations        ii 

of  extent  is  rather  disgusting  than  pleasing,  and  little 
advantage  is  gained  by  attempts  to  let  in  distant  objects  ; 
yet  there  is  such  infinite  beauty  to  be  produced  by  judi- 
cious management  of  the  home  scenery,  as  may  well 
compensate  the  want  of  prospect.  There  is  always  great 
cheerfulness  in  a  view  on  a  flat  lawn,  well  stocked  with 
cattle,  if  it  be  properly  bounded  by  a  wood  at  a  distance, 
neither  too  far  off  to  lessen  its  importance  nor  too  near 
to  act  as  a  confinement  to  the  scene  ;  and  which  contrib- 
utes also  to  break  those  straight  lines  that  are  the  only 
causes  of  disgust  in  a  flat  situation.  Uneven  ground 
may  be  more  striking  as  a  picture  and  more  interesting 
to  the  stranger's  eye,  it  may  be  more  bold  or  magni- 
ficent or  romantic,  but  the  character  of  cheerfulness  is 
peculiar  to  the  plain.  Whether  this  effect  be  produced 
by  the  apparent  ease  of  communication,  or  by  the  larger 
proportion  of  sky  which  enters  into  the  landscape,  or 
by  the  different  manner  in  which  cattle  form  themselves 
into  groups  on  a  plain,  or  on  a  sloping  bank,  I  confess 
I  am  at  a  loss  to  decide  :  all  three  causes  may,  perhaps, 
contribute  to  produce  that  degree  of  cheerfulness  which 
every  one  must  have  observed  in  the  scenery  of  Milton. 
Hasells  Hall.  There  has  hardly  been  proposed  to 
my  consideration  a  spot  in  which  both  situation  and 
character  have  undergone  a  greater  change  than  at 
Hasells  Hall.  From  the  former  mode  of  approaching 
the  house,  especially  from  the  Cambridge  side,  a  stranger 
could  hardly  suppose  there  was  any  unequal  ground  in 
the  park :  even  to  the  south,  where  the  ground  natur- 
ally falls  towards  a  deep  valley,  the  mistaken  interference 
of  art,  in  former  days,  had  bolstered  it  up  by  flat  bowl- 
ing-greens, and  formal  terraces ;  while  the  declivity  was 
so  thickly  planted  as  entirely  to  choke  up  the  lowest 
ground,  and  shut  out  all  idea  of  inequality.  The  first 


12  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

object  of  improvement  is  to  point  out  those  beautiful 
shapes  in  the  ground  which  so  copiously  prevail  in  sev- 
eral parts  of  this  park  ;  the  second,  is  to  change  its 
character  of  gloom  and  sombre  dampness  to  a  more 
cheerful  shade ;  and  the  third,  is  to  mark  the  whole 
with  that  degree  of  importance  and  extent  which  the 
size  of  the  house  and  the  surrounding  territory  demand. 

CuLFORD.  The  house  stands  on  the  side  of  a  hill, 
gently  sloping  towards  the  south  ;  but  nearly  one  half 
of  the  natural  depth  of  the  valley  has  been  destroyed 
to  obtain  an  expanse  of  water,  which,  in  so  flat  a  situa- 
tion, I  think  ought  not  to  have  been  attempted  ;  and 
I  am  certain,  by  proper  management  of  the  water,  the 
house  would  appear  to  stand  on  a  sufficient  eminence 
above  it,  and  not  so  low  as  the  present  surface  of  the 
water  seems  to  indicate ;  since  the  eye  is  always  dis- 
posed to  measure  from  the  surface  of  neighbouring 
water,  in  forming  a  judgement  of  the  height  of  any 
situation. 

Crewe  Hall.  In  judging  the  character  of  any  place 
to  which  I  am  a  stranger,  I  very  minutely  observe  the 
first  impression  it  makes  upon  my  mind,  and,  compar- 
ing it  with  subsequent  impressions,  I  inquire  into  the 
causes  which  may  have  rendered  my  first  judgement 
erroneous.  I  confess  there  has  hardly  occurred  to  me 
an  instance  where  I  have  experienced  so  great  a  fluc- 
tuation of  opinion  as  in  this  place.  I  was  led,  from 
a  consideration  of  the  antiquity  of  the  Crewe  family  in 
Cheshire,  to  expect  a  certain  degree  of  magnificence ; 
but  my  first  view  of  the  house  being  from  an  unfavour- 
able point,  and  at  too  great  a  distance  to  judge  of  its 
real  magnitude,  I  conceived  it  to  be  very  small ;  and, 
measuring  the  surrounding  objects  by  this  false  stand- 
ard, the  whole  place  lost  that  importance  which  I  after- 


Different  Characters  and  Situations        13 

wards  found  it  assume  on  a  closer  examination.  In 
former  days  the  dignity  of  a  house  was  supposed  to 
increase  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  walls  and 
buildings  with  which  it  was  surrounded :  to  these 
were  sometimes  added  tall  ranks  of  trees,  whose  shade 
contributed  to  the  gloom  at  that  time  held  essential 
to  magnificence. 

Modern  taste  has  discovered  that  greatness  and 
cheerfulness  are  not  incompatible  ;  it  has  thrown  down 
the  ancient  palisade  and  lofty  walls  because  it  is  aware 
that  liberty  is  the  true  portal  of  happiness  ;  yet,  while 
it  encourages  more  cheerful  freedom,  it  must  not  lay 
aside  becoming  dignity.  When  we  formerly  approached 
the  mansion  through  a  village  of  its  poor  dependants, 
we  were  not  offended  at  their  proximity,  because  the 
massy  gates  and  numerous  courts  sufficiently  marked 
the  distance  betwixt  the  palace  and  the  cottage :  these 
being  removed,  other  expedients  must  be  adopted  to 
restore  the  native  character  of  Crewe  Hall. 

Tatton  Park.  The  situation  of  Tatton  may  be 
justly  described  as  too  splendid  to  be  called  interesting, 
and  too  vast  to  be  deemed  picturesque;  yet  it  is  alto- 
gether beautiful,  in  spite  of  that  greatness  which  is 
rather  the  attribute  of  sublimity  than  of  beauty.  The 
mind  is  astonished  and  pleased  at  a  very  extensive 
prospect,  but  it  cannot  be  interested,  except  by  those 
objects  which  strike  the  eye  distinctly ;  and  the  scenery 
of  Tatton  is  at  present  of  a  kind  much  beyond  the 
pencil's  power  to  imitate  with  effect :  it  is  like  the  at- 
tempt to  paint  a  giant  by  himself  in  a  miniature  picture. 

Perfection  in  landscape  may  be  derived  from  various 
sources :  if  it  is  sublime,  it  may  be  wild,  romantic,  or 
greatly  extensive :  if  beautiful,  it  may  be  comfortable, 
interesting,  and  graceful  in  all  its  parts ;  but  there  is  no 


14  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

incongruity  in  blending  these  attributes,  provided  the 
natural  situation  continues  to  prevail;  for  this  reason, 
no  violation  will  be  offered  to  the  genius  of  Tatton 
Park,  if  we  add  to  its  splendour  the  amenity  of  inter- 
esting objects,  and  give  to  its  vastness  the  elegance  of 
comfort. 

It  is  not  from  the  situation  only  that  the  character 
of  Tatton  derives  its  greatness.  The  command  of  ad- 
joining property,  the  style  and  magnitude  of  the  man- 
sion and  all  its  appendages  contribute  to  confer  that 
degree  of  importance  which  ought  here  to  be  the  leading 
object  in  every  plan  of  improvement.  Vastness  of  ex- 
tent will  no  more  constitute  greatness  of  character  in 
a  park  than  a  vast  pile  of  differently  coloured  building 
will  constitute  greatness  of  character  in  a  house.  A 
park,  from  its  vast  extent,  may  perhaps  surprise,  but 
it  will  not  impress  us  with  the  character  of  greatness 
and  importance  unless  we  are  led  to  those  parts  where 
beauty  is  shewn  to  exist,  with  all  its  interest,  amidst 
the  boundless  range  of  undivided  property. 

Wembly.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  metropolis  there  are 
few  places  so  free  from  interruption  as  the  grounds 
at  Wembly ;  and,  indeed,  in  the  course  of  my  experi- 
ence, I  have  seen  no  spot  within  so  short  a  distance 
of  London  more  perfectly  secluded  from  those  inter- 
ferences which  are  the  common  effects  of  divided  pro- 
perty and  a  populous  neighbourhood.  Wembly  is  as 
quiet  and  retired  at  seven  miles'  distance  as  it  could 
have  been  at  seventy. 

The  fatal  experience  of  some,  who  begin  improvements 
by  building  a  house  too  sumptuous  for  the  grounds, 
has  occasionally  induced  others  to  consider  the  grounds 
independent  of  the  house;  but  this,  I  conceive,  will 
unavoidably  lead  to  error.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the 


Different  Characters  and  Situations        15 

house  and  grounds  should  correspond  with  each  other 

in  point  of  size,  but  the  characters  of  each  should  be  in 

strict  harmony,  since  it  is  hardly  less  incongruous  to 

see  a  palace  by  the  side  of  a  neglected  common  than 

an  ugly  ill-designed  mansion,  whether  large  or  small, 

in  the  midst  of  highly-improved  scenery,  to  every  part 

of  which  it  must  be  considered  as  a  disgrace. 

Welbeck.  The  house  appears  to  stand  much  lower 

than  it  really  does  on  account  of  the  entrance  in  the 

basement  storey ;  which,  if  carried  up  to  the  principal 

floor,  will  not  only  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  inside, 

by  removing  all  necessity  for  ascending  the  present 

staircase,  but  the  effect  on  the  outside  will  be  much 

♦  .        .  . 

greater  than  may  at  first  be  imagined  ;  since,  by  giving 

an  opportunity  of  altering  the  shape  of  the  ground,  it 
will  take  the  house  out  of  an  hollow,  and  set  it  on 
a  pleasing  eminence.  The  ground,  at  present,  slopes 
gradually  towards  the  house,  with  a  flat  hanging  level, 
which  is  evidently  artificial ;  and  from  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  projecting  wing  there  is  a  ridge  of  earth 
which  divides  this  platform  from  the  adjoining  valley: 
the  superfluous  earth  from  this  ridge  will  be  sufficient 
to  answer  every  purpose  of  raising  the  lawn  to  the 
house ;  and  I  propose  to  slope  the  ground  with  a  grad- 
ual fall  from  the  riding-house  to  the  valley,  and  to 
cross  this  fall  by  an  additional  steep  from  the  west  front, 
making  both  to  wind  naturally  towards  the  low  ground 
of  the  valley.  The  earth  may  be  raised  just  above  the 
tops  of  the  windows  in  the  basement  storey,  which  may 
still  be  sufficiently  lighted  by  an  area;  but  when  the 
lower  row  of  windows  is  totally  hid,  the  house  will 
appear  too  long  for  its  height,  and  the  depth  of  roof  will 
be  still  more  conspicuous.  After  various  attempts  to 
counteract  this  awkward  effect,  without  any  great  oper- 


i6  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

ation,  the  following  appeared  the  most  simple  :  viz.  that 
the  present  pediment  (which  is  incongruous  to  the 
battlements)  should  be  raised  as  a  square  tower,  and 
that  the  parapets,  also,  at  the  ends  of  the  building, 
should  be  raised  to  unite  with  the  chimneys  in  the 
gables.  This  will  serve  not  only  to  hide  more  of  the 
roof,  but  will  give  that  importance  to  the  whole  fabric, 
which,  in  a  large  mass  of  Gothic  building,  is  always 
increased  by  the  irregularity  of  its  outline. 

I  have  also  changed  the  colour  of  the  roof  and 
chimneys:  for,  though  such  minutiae  are  apt  to  pass 
unnoticed  in  the  great  outline  of  improvement,  I  con- 
sider the  mention  of  them  as  a  duty  of  my  profession; 
as  the  motley  appearance  or  red  brick  with  white  stone, 
by  breaking  the  unity  of  effect,  will  often  destroy  the 
magnificence  of  the  most  splendid  composition. 


Chapter  II 

Buildings 


THE  perfection  of  landscape  gardening  depends  on 
a  concealment  of  those  operations  of  art  by  which 
nature  is  embellished;  but  where  buildings  are  intro- 
duced, art  declares  herself  openly,  and  should,  therefore, 
be  very  careful,  lest  she  have  cause  to  blush  at  her  inter- 
ference. It  is  this  circumstance  that  renders  it  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  landscape  gardener  to  have  a  com- 
petent knowledge  of  architecture :  I  am,  however,  well 
aware  that  no  art  is  more  difficult  to  be  acquired;  and 
although  every  inferior  workman  pretends  to  give  plans 
for  building,  yet  perfection  in  that  art  is  confined  to 
a  very  few  gentlemen,  who,  with  native  genius  and  a  lib- 
eral education,  have  acquired  good  taste  by  travel  and 
observation. 

This  remark  proceeds  from  the  frequent  instances 
I  continually  see  of  good  houses  built  without  any  taste, 
and  attempts  to  embellish  scenery  by  ornamental 
buildings  that  are  totally  incongruous  to  their  respect- 
ive situations.  The  country  carpenter  or  bricklayer  is 
only  accustomed  to  consider  detached  parts;  the  arch- 
itect, on  the  contrary,  finds  it  his  office  to  consider 
the  whole.  There  is  some  degree  of  merit  in  building 
good  rooms,  but  there  is  more  in  connecting  these 
rooms  together;  however,  it  is  the  regular  bred  archi- 
tect alone  who  can  add  to  these  an  outside  according 
to  the  established  rules  of  art :  and  where  these  rules 
are  grossly  violated,  the  eye  of  genuine  taste  will  in- 


1 8  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

stantly  be  offended,  although  it  may  not  always  be  able 
to  explain  the  cause  of  its  disgust. 

To  my  profession  belongs  chiefly  the  external  part 
of  architecture  or  a  knowledge  of  the  effect  of  buildings 
on  the  surrounding  scenery. 

Welbeck.  As  every  conspicuous  building  in  a  park 
should  derive  its  character  from  that  of  the  house,  it 
is  very  essential  to  fix,  with  some  precision,  what  that 
character  ought  to  be ;  yet  the  various  tastes  of  success- 
ive ages  have  so  blended  opposite  styles  of  architecture 
that  it  is  often  difficult,  in  an  old  house,  to  determine 
the  date  to  which  its  true  character  belongs.  I  venture 
to  deliver  it  as  my  opinion  that  there  are  only  two 
characters  of  buildings:  the  one  may  be  called  per- 
pendicular, and  the  other  horizontal.  Under  the  first, 
I  class  all  buildings  erected  in  England  before  and  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign,  whether 
deemed  Saracenic,  Saxon,  Norman,  or  the  Gothic  of 
the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries;  and  even  that 
peculiar  kind  called  Queen  Elizabeth's  Gothic,  in  which 
turrets  prevailed,  though  battlements  were  discarded 
and  Grecian  columns  occasionally  introduced.  Under  the 
horizontal  character  I  include  all  edifices  built  since 
the  introduction  of  a  more  regular  architecture,  whether 
it  copies  the  remains  of  Grecian  or  Roman  models. 

The  character  of  the  house  should,  of  course,  pre- 
vail in  all  such  buildings  as  are  very  conspicuous,  or 
in  any  degree  intended  as  ornaments  to  the  general 
scenery  ;  such  as  lodges,  pavilions,  temples,  belvederes, 
and  the  like.  Yet,  in  adapting  the  Gothic  style  to 
buildings  of  small  extent,  there  may  be  some  reason- 
able objection:  the  fastidiousness  even  of  good  taste 
will,  perhaps,  observe  that  we  always  see  vast  piles 
of  buildings  in  ancient  Gothic  remains,  and  that  it  is 


Buildings 


a  modern  or  false  Gothic  only  which  can  be  adapted 
to  so  small  a  building  as  a  keeper's  lodge,  a  reposoir,  or 
a  pavilion.  There  may  be  some  force  in  this  objection, 
but  there  is  always  so  much  picturesque  effect  in  the 
small  fragments  of  those  great  piles  that,  without  re- 
presenting them  as  ruins,  it  is  surely  allowable  to  copy 
them  for  the  purposes  of  ornament :  and  with  respect 
to  the  mixture  of  different  styles  in  Gothic  edifices, 
I  think  there  is  no  incongruity,  provided  the  same 
character  of  perpendicular  architecture  be  studiously 
retained;  because  there  is  hardly  a  cathedral  in  England 
in  which  such  mixture  may  not  be  observed :  and  while 
the  antiquary  only  can  discover  the  Saxon  and  Norman 
styles  from  the  Gothic  of  later  date,  the  eye  of  taste 
will  never  be  offended,  except  by  the  occasional  intro- 
duction of  some  Grecian  or  Roman  ornaments. 

Wembly.  The  characters  of  Grecian  and  Gothic 
architecture  are  better  distinguished  by  an  attention  to 
their  general  effects  than  to  the  minute  parts  peculiar 
to  each.  It  is  in  architecture  as  in  painting,  beauty 
depends  on  light  and  shade,  and  these  are  caused  by 
the  openings  or  projections  in  the  surface  :  if  these  tend 
to  produce  horizontal  lines,  the  building  must  be  deemed 
Grecian,  however  whimsically  the  doors  or  windows 
may  be  constructed ;  if,  on  the  contrary,  the  shadows 
give  a  prevalence  of  perpendicular  lines,  the  general 
character  of  the  building  will  be  Gothic;  and  this  is 
evident  from  the  large  houses  built  in  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's reign,  where  Grecian  columns  are  introduced ; 
nevertheless,  we  always  consider  them  as  Gothic  build- 
ings. 

In  Grecian  architecture,  we  expect  large  cornices, 
windows  ranged  perfectly  on  the  same  line,  and  that 
line  often  more  strongly  marked  by  a  horizontal  fascia  ; 


ao  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

but  there  are  few  breaks  of  any  great  depth ;  and  if  there 
be  a  portico,  the  shadow  made  by  the  columns  is  very 
trifling,  compared  with  that  broad  horizontal  shadow 
proceeding  from  the  soffit ;  and  the  only  ornament  its 
roof  will  admit  is  either  a  flat  pediment,  departing 
very  little  from  the  horizontal  tendency,  or  a  dome,  still 
rising  from  a  horizontal  base.  With  such  buildings  it 
may  often  be  observed  that  trees  of  a  pointed  or  conic 
shape  have  a  beautiful  eff^ect,  I  believe  chiefly  from  the 
circumstances  of  contrast ;  though  an  association  with 
the  ideas  of  Italian  paintings,  where  we  often  see  Grecian 
edifices  blended  with  firs  and  cypresses,  may  also  have 
some  influence  on  the  mind. 

Trees  of  a  conic  shape  mixed  with  Gothic  buildings 
displease,  from  their  affinity  with  the  prevalent  lines  of 
the  architecture ;  since  the  play  of  light  and  shadow  in 
Gothic  structures  must  proceed  from  those  bold  projec- 
tions, either  of  towers  or  buttresses,  which  cause  strong 
shadows  in  a  perpendicular  direction  :  at  the  same  time 
the  horizontal  line  of  roof  is  broken  into  an  irregular 
surface  by  the  pinnacles,  turrets,  and  battlements  that 
form  the  principal  enrichment  of  Gothic  architecture ; 
which  becomes,  therefore,  peculiarly  adapted  to  those 
situations  where  the  shape  of  the  ground  occasionally 
hides  the  lower  part  of  the  building,  while  its  roof  is 
relieved  by  trees,  whose  forms  contrast  with  those  of 
the  Gothic  outline. 

As  this  observation  is  new,  and  may,  perhaps,  be 
thought  too  fanciful,  I  must  appeal  to  the  eye,  by  the  help 
of  the  illustration  [Plate  i],  which  I  hope  will  find  that 
my  observation  is  not  wholly  chimerical ;  and  will,  con- 
sequently, lay  the  foundation  for  this  general  principle  ; 
viz.  that  the  lines  of  Gothic  buildings  are  contrasted 
with  round-headed  trees;  or,  as  Milton  observes, — 


Buildings 


•*  Towers  and  battlements  he  sees. 
Embosom' d  high  in  tufted  trees''''  ; 

and  that  those  of  the  Grecian  will  accord  either  with 
round  or  conic  trees ;  but  if  the  base  be  hid  the  con- 
trast of  the  latter  will  be  most  pleasing. 

The  Gothic  style  of  architecture  being  the  most  cal- 
culated for  additions  or  repairs  to  an  old  house,  I  might 
here  venture  to  recommend  it  on  the  score  of  mere 
utility  ;  but  when  we  take  into  the  account  that  pictur- 
esque effect  which  is  always  produced  by  the  mixture 
of  Gothic  buildings  with  round-headed  trees,  I  confess 
myself  to  be  rather  sanguine  in  my  hopes  of  produc- 
ing such  beauty  at  Wembly  as  will  render  that  house, 
which  has  hitherto  been  a  reproach  to  the  place,  the 
leading  feature  of  the  scenery.  Instead  of  clogging 
all  the  improvements  with  the  dread  of  shewing  the 
house,  I  conceive  it  possible,  without  any  very  great 
expense,  to  convert  the  house  itself  into  the  most 
pleasing  object  throughout  every  part  of  the  grounds 
from  whence  it  may  be  visible. 

Having  stated  some  arguments  for  adopting  the 
Gothic  style,  I  shall  now  proceed  to  consider  the  objec- 
tions that  may  be  urged  against  it. 

The  first  objection  will  arise  from  the  expense  of 
altering  the  outside,  without  any  addition  to  the  inter- 
nal comfort  of  the  mansion.  The  same  objection  may, 
indeed,  be  made  to  every  species  of  external  ornament 
in  dress,  furniture,  equipage,  or  any  other  object  of 
taste  or  elegance :  the  outside  case  of  a  harpsichord 
does  not  improve  the  tone  of  the  instrument,  but  it 
decorates  the  room  in  which  it  is  placed :  thus  it  is  as 
an  ornament  to  the  beautiful  grounds  at  Wembly  that 
I  contend  for  the  external  improvement  of  the  house. 
But  in  altering  the  house,  we  may  add  a  room  to  any 


11  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

part  of  the  building  without  injuring  the  picturesque 
outside,  because  an  exact  symmetry,  so  far  from  being 
necessary,  is  rather  to  be  avoided  in  a  Gothic  building. 
Another  objection  may  arise  from  the  smallness  of 
the  house,  as  Gothic  structures  are  in  general  of  consid- 
erable magnitude ;  but  the  character  of  great  or  small 
is  not  governed  by  measurement :  a  great  building  may 
be  made  to  appear  small ;  and  it  is  from  the  quantity 
of  windows,  and  not  their  size,  that  we  should  pro- 
nounce the  house  at  Wembly  to  be  a  very  consider- 
able edifice. 


Chapter  III 

Proper  Situations  for  a  House 


WELBECK.  However  various  opinions  may  be 
on  the  choice  of  a  situation  for  a  house,  yet 
there  appear  to  be  certain  principles  on  which  such 
choice  ought  to  be  founded  ;  and  these  may  be  deduced 
from  the  following  considerations  : 

First.  The  natural  character  of  the  surrounding 
country. 

Secondly.  The  style,  character,  and  size  of  the  house. 

Thirdly,  The  aspects  of  exposure,  both  with  regard 
to  the  sun  and  the  prevalent  winds  of  the  country. 

Fourthly.  The  shape  of  the  ground  near  the  house. 

Fifthly.  The  views  from  the  several  apartments; 
and, 

Sixthly  The  numerous  objects  of  comfort :  —  such 
as  a  dry  soil,  a  supply  of  good  water,  proper  space 
for  offices,  with  various  other  conveniences  essential  to 
a  mansion  in  the  country ;  and  which  in  a  town  may 
sometimes  be  dispensed  with,  or  at  least  very  differ- 
ently disposed. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  arrange  these  six  considera- 
tions according  to  their  respective  weight  or  influence, 
which  must  depend  on  a  comparison  of  one  with  the 
other,  under  a  variety  of  circumstances ;  and  even  on 
the  partiality  of  individuals  in  affixing  different  degrees 
of  importance  to  each  consideration.  Hence  it  is  ob- 
vious that  there  can  be  no  danger  of  sameness  in  any 
two  designs  conducted  on  principles  thus  established. 


24  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

since  in  every  different  situation  some  one  or  more  of 
these  considerations  must  preponderate ;  and  the  most 
rational  decision  will  result  from  a  combined  view  of 
all  the  separate  advantages  or  disadvantages  to  be  fore- 
seen from  each.^ 

It  was  the  custom  of  former  times,  in  the  choice  of 
domestic  situations,  to  let  comfort  and  convenience 
prevail  over  every  other  consideration  :  thus  the  ancient 
baronial  castles  were  built  on  the  summit  of  hills,  in 
times  when  defence  and  security  suggested  the  neces- 
sity of  placing  them  there,  and  difficulty  of  access  was 
a  recommendation  which,  in  our  happier  days,  exists 
no  more.  But  when  this  necessity  no  longer  operated 
(as  mankind  are  always  apt  to  fly  from  one  extreme  to 
the  other),  houses  were  universally  erected  in  the  low- 
est situations,  with  a  probable  design  to  avoid  those 
inconveniences  to  which  the  lofty  positions  had  been 
subject;  hence  the  frequent  sites  of  many  large  man- 
sions, and  particularly  abbeys  and  monasteries,  the 
residence  of  persons  who  were  willing  to  sacrifice  the 
beauty  of  prospect  for  the  more  solid  and  permanent 
advantages  of  habitable  convenience :  amongst  which 
shelter  from  wind  and  a  supply  of  water  were  pre- 
dominant considerations.  Nor  shall  I  withhold  the  fol- 
lowing conjecture,  which  I  hope  will  not  be  considered 
as  a  mere  suggestion  of  fancy.  When  such  buildings 
were  surrounded  by  trees  for  the  comfort  of  shade, 
might  not  the  occasional  want  of  circulation  in  the  air 
have  given  the  first  idea  of  cutting  long  narrow  glades 
through  the  woods  to  admit  a  current  of  wind  ?  and  is 
it  not  possible  that  this  was  the  origin  of  those  avenues 
which  we  frequently  see  pointing,  from  every  direction, 
towards  the  most  respectable  habitations  of  the  two 
last  centuries  ^ 


Proper  Situations  for  a  House  25 

Langley.  It  seems  to  have  been  as  much  the  fash- 
ion of  the  present  century  to  condemn  avenues  as  it 
was  in  the  last  to  plant  them  ;  and  yet  the  subject  is  so 
little  understood  that  most  people  think  they  suffi- 
ciently justify  their  opinion,  in  either  case,  by  merely 
saying,  "  I  like  an  avenue,"  or,  "  I  hate  an  avenue  "  :  it 
is  my  business  to  analyse  this  approbation  or  disgust. 

The  several  degrees  of  pleasure  which  the  mind 
derives  from  the  love  of  order,  of  unity,  antiquity, 
greatness  of  parts,  and  continuity  are  all  in  some  meas- 
ure gratified  by  the  long  perspective  view  of  a  stately 
avenue :  for  the  truth  of  this  assertion  I  appeal  to 
the  sensations  that  every  one  must  have  felt  who 
has  visited  the  lofty  avenues  of  Windsor,  Hatfield, 
Burleigh,  etc.,  before  experience  had  pointed  out  that 
tedious  sameness  and  the  many  inconveniences  which 
have  deservedly  brought  avenues  into  disrepute.  This 
sameness  is  so  obvious  that,  by  the  effect  of  avenues, 
all  novelty  or  diversity  of  situation  is  done  away ;  and 
the  views  from  every  house  in  the  kingdom  may  be 
reduced  to  the  same  landscape,  if  looking  up  or  down 
a  straight  line,  betwixt  two  green  walls,  deserves  the 
name  of  landscape. 

Among  the  inconveniences  of  long  straight  avenues 
may  very  properly  be  reckoned  that  of  their  acting  as 
wind-spouts  to  direct  cold  blasts  with  more  violence 
upon  the  dwelling,  as  driven  through  a  long  tube. 
But  I  propose  rather  to  consider  the  objections  in 
point  of  beauty.  If  at  the  end  of  a  long  avenue  be 
placed  an  obelisk,  or  temple,  or  any  other  eye-trap, 
ignorance  or  childhood  alone  will  be  caught  or  pleased 
by  it :  the  eye  of  taste  or  experience  hates  compulsion, 
and  turns  away  with  disgust  from  every  artificial  means 
of  attracting  its  notice.  For  this  reason  an  avenue  is 


26  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

most  pleasing,  which,  like  that  at  Langley  Park,  climbs 
up  a  hill,  and,  passing  over  its  summit,  leaves  the  fancy 
to  conceive  its  termination/ 

One  great  mischief  of  an  avenue  is  that  it  divides 
a  park  and  cuts  it  into  separate  parts,  destroying  that 
unity  of  lawn  or  wood  which  is  necessary  to  please  in 
every  composition:  this  is  so  obvious  that,  where  a  long 
avenue  runs  through  a  park  from  east  to  west,  it  would 
be  hardly  possible  to  avoid  distinguishing  it  into  the 
north  and  south  lawn,  or  north  and  south  division  of 
the  park. 

But  the  greatest  objection  to  an  avenue  is  that  (espe- 
cially in  uneven  ground)  it  will  often  act  as  a  curtain 
drawn  across  to  exclude  what  is  infinitely  more  interest- 
ing than  any  row  of  trees,  however  venerable  or  beau- 
tiful in  themselves;  and  it  is  in  undrawing  this  curtain 
at  proper  places  that  the  utility  of  what  is  called  break- 
ing an  avenue  consists :  for  it  is  in  vain  we  shall  en- 
deavour, by  removing  nine  tenths  of  the  trees  in  rows, 
to  prevent  its  having  the  effect  of  an  avenue  when  seen 
from  either  end.  The  illustration  [Plate  iii]  may  serve  to 
shew  the  effect  of  cutting  down  some  chestnut-trees  in 
the  avenue  at  Langley,  to  let  in  the  hill,  richly  covered 
with  oaks,  and  that  majestic  tree  which  steps  out  be- 
fore its  brethren  like  the  leader  of  a  host.  Such  open- 
ings may  be  made  in  several  parts  of  this  avenue  with 
wonderful  effect;  and  yet  its  venerable  appearance  from 
the  windows  of  the  saloon  will  not  be  injured,  because 
the  trees  removed  from  the  rows  will  hardly  be  missed 
in  the  general  perspective  view  from  the  house.  And 
though  I  should  not  advise  the  planting  such  an  avenue, 
yet  there  will  always  be  so  much  of  ancient  grandeur 
in  the  front  trees,  and  in  looking  up  this  long  vista 
at  Langley,  that  I  do  not  wish  it  should  be  further 


Proper  Situations  for  a  House  27 

disturbed,  especially  as  the  views  on  each  side  are  suf- 
ficiently capable  of  yielding  beauty;  and,  when  seen 
from  the  end  rooms  of  the  house,  the  avenue  will  act  as 
a  foreground  to  either  landscape. 

Hanslope.  Most  of  the  large  trees  at  Hanslope 
stand  in  avenues,  yet  their  pleasant  shade  forbids  the 
cutting  down  many  of  them,  merely  because  the  false 
taste  of  former  times  has  planted  them  in  rows ;  at 
least  till  those  plantations  which  are  now  made  shall 
better  replace  the  shelter  which  the  avenues  in  some 
measure  afford.  The  breaking  of  an  avenue  to  the 
north  is  not  to  be  done  by  merely  taking  away  certain 
trees,  but  also  by  planting  a  thicket  before  the  trunks 
of  those  at  a  distance ;  as  we  may  be  thus  induced  to 
forget  that  they  stand  in  rows.  The  addition  of  a  few 
single  trees,  guarded  by  cradles,  though  often  used  as  an 
expedient  to  break  a  row,  never  produces  the  desired 
effect:  the  original  lines  are  for  ever  visible. ^ 

Welbeck.  Besides  the  character  which  the  style  and 
size  of  the  house  will  confer  on  a  place,  there  is  a  natural 
character  of  country  which  must  influence  the  site  and 
disposition  of  a  house;  and  though,  in  the  country, 
there  is  not  the  same  occasion  as  in  towns  for  placing 
offices  under  ground,  or  for  setting  the  principal  apart- 
ments on  a  basement  storey,  as  it  is  far  more  desirable 
to  walk  from  the  house  on  the  same  level  with  the 
ground,  yet  there  are  situations  which  require  to  be 
raised  above  the  natural  surface :  this  is  the  case  at 
Welbeck,  where  the  park  not  only  abounds  with  bold 
and  conspicuous  inequalities,  but  in  many  places  there 
are  almost  imperceptible  swellings  in  the  ground,  which 
art  would  in  vain  attempt  to  remedy,  from  their  vast 
breadth ;  though  they  are  evident  defects  whenever 
they  appear  to  cut  across  the  stems  of  trees  and  hide 


28  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

only  half  their  trunks  ;  for  if  the  whole  trunk  were  per- 
fectly hid  by  such  a  swell,  the  injury  would  be  less, 
because  the  imagination  is  always  ready  to  sink  the 
valley  and  raise  the  hill,  if  not  checked  in  its  efforts  by 
some  actual  standard  of  measurement.  In  such  cases 
the  best  expedient  is  to  view  the  ground  from  a  gentle 
eminence,  that  the  eye  may  look  over  and,  of  course, 
lose  these  trifling  inequalities. 

The  family  apartments  are  to  the  south,  the  prin- 
cipal suite  of  rooms  to  the  east,  and  the  hall  and  some 
rooms  of  less  importance  to  the  west ;  when,  therefore, 
the  eating-room  and  kitchen  offices  shall  be  removed 
to  the  north,  it  is  impossible  to  make  a  better  disposi- 
tion of  the  whole,  with  regard  to  aspect.  I  shall  there- 
fore proceed  to  the  fourth  general  head  proposed  for 
consideration,  viz.  the  shape  of  the  ground  near  the 
house  :  and  as  the  improvement  at  Welbeck,  origin- 
ally suggested  by  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Portland,  has, 
I  confess,  far  exceeded  even  my  own  expectations, 
I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  drawing  some  general  con- 
clusions on  the  subject,  from  the  success  of  this  bold 
experiment.  At  the  time  I  had  the  honour  to  deliver 
my  former  opinion,  my  idea  of  raising  the  ground  near 
the  house  was  confined  to  the  west  front  alone;  and, 
till  it  had  been  exemplified  and  executed,  few  could 
comprehend  the  seeming  paradox  of  burying  the  bot- 
tom of  the  house  as  the  means  of  elevating  the  whole 
structure  ;  or,  as  it  was  very  wittily  expressed,  "  mould- 
ing up  the  roots  of  the  venerable  pile,  that  it  might 
shoot  up  in  fresh  towers  from  its  top." 

All  natural  shapes  of  ground  must  necessarily  fall 
under  one  of  these  descriptions,  viz.,  convex,  concave, 
plane,  or  inclined  plane,  as  represented  in  the  follow- 
ing sections  [Fig.  3].    I  will  suppose  it  granted  that. 


Proper  Situations  for  a  House 


29 


except  in  very  romantic  situations,  all  the  rooms  on 
the  principal  floor  ought  to  range  on  the  same  level ; 
and  that  there  must  be  a  platform,  or  certain  space  of 
ground,  with  a  gentle  descent  from  the  house  every 
way.  If  the  ground  be  naturally  convex,  or  what  is 
generally  called   a  knoll,  the  size  of  the  house  must 


Fig.   3,     Sections  to  shew  the  manner  of  adapting  houses  to  different  natural 
shapes  of  ground. 

be  adapted  to  the  size  of  the  knoll :  this  is  shown  by 
the  small  building  a,  supposed  to  be  only  one  hun- 
dred feet  in  front,  which  may  be  placed  upon  such 
a  hillock,  with  a  sufficient  platform  round  it ;  but  if 
a  building  of  three  hundred  feet  long,  as  b  b,  should 
be  required,  it  is  evident  that  the  crown  of  the  hill 
must  be  taken  off,  and  then  the  shape  of  the  ground 
becomes  very  different  from  its  original  form :  for 
although  the  small  house  would  have  a  sufficient  plat- 
form, the  large  one  will  be  on  the  brink  of  a  very  steep 


30  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

bank  at  c ;  and  this  difficulty  would  be  increased  by- 
raising  the  ground  to  the  dotted  line  d,  to  set  the 
large  house  on  the  same  level  with  the  smaller  one. 
It  therefore  follows  that  if  the  house  must  stand  on 
a  natural  hillock,  the  building  should  not  be  larger  than 
its  situation  will  admit ;  and  where  such  hillocks  do  not 
exist  in  places  proper  for  a  house  in  every  other  respect, 
it  is  sometimes  possible  for  art  to  supply  what  nature 
seems  to  have  denied.  But  it  is  not  possible  in  all 
cases ;  a  circumstance  which  proves  the  absurdity  of 
those  architects  who  design  and  plan  a  house,  without 
any  previous  knowledge  of  the  situation  or  shape  of 
the  ground  on  which  it  is  to  be  built.  Such  errors 
I  have  had  too  frequent  occasion  to  observe. 

When  the  shape  is  naturally  either  concave  or  per- 
fectly flat,  the  house  would  not  be  habitable  unless  the 
ground  sloped  sufficiently  to  throw  the  water  from  it. 
This  is  often  effected,  in  a  slight  degree,  merely  by  the 
earth  that  is  dug  from  the  cellars  and  foundations ;  but 
if,  instead  of  sinking  the  cellars,  they  were  to  be  built 
upon  the  level  of  the  ground,  they  may  afterwards  be  so 
covered  with  earth  as  to  give  all  the  appearance  of  a 
natural  knoll,  the  ground  falling  from  the  house  to  any 
distance  where  it  may  best  unite  with  the  natural  shape, 
as  shewn  at  e,  f,  and  g:  or,  as  it  frequently  happens 
that  there  may  be  small  hillocks,  h  and  i,  near  the 
house,  one  of  them  may  be  removed  to  effect  this  pur- 
pose. This  expedient  can  also  be  used  in  an  inclined 
plane,  falling  towards  the  house,  where  the  inclination 
is  not  very  great,  as  shewn  at  l  ;  but  it  may  be  ob- 
served of  the  inclined  plane  that  the  size  of  the  house 
must  be  governed  in  some  measure  by  the  fall  of  the 
ground;  since  it  is  evident  that  although  a  house  of 
a  hundred  feet  deep  might  stand  at  k,  yet  it  would 


Proper  Situations  for  a  House 


require  an  artificial  terrace  on  that  side ;  because  neither 
of  the  dotted  lines  shewn  there  would  connect  with 
the  natural  shape ;  and  where  the  ground  cannot  be 
made  to  look  natural,  it  is  better,  at  all  times,  to  avow 
the  interference  of  art  than  to  attempt  an  ineffectual 
concealment  of  it.  Such  situations  are  peculiarly  appli- 
cable to  the  Gothic  style,  in  which  horizontal  lines  are 
unnecessary. 

These  sections  can  only  describe  the  shape  of  the 
ground  as  it  cuts  across  in  any  one  direction.  But  an- 
other shape  is  also  to  be  considered  :  thus  it  generally 
happens  that  a  knoll  is  longer  one  way  than  the  other,  or 
it  may  even  extend  to  a  natural  ridge,  of  sufficient  length 
for  a  long  and  narrow  house ;  but  such  a  house  must 
be  fitted  to  the  ground,  for  it  would  be  absurd  in  the 
architect  to  place  it  either  diagonally  or  directly  across 
such  a  ridge.  The  same  holds  good  of  the  inclined  plane, 
which  is,  in  fact,  always  the  side  of  a  valley  whose 
general  inclination  must  be  consulted  in  the  position 
of  the  building.  A  square  house  would  appear  awry 
unless  its  fronts  were  made  to  correspond  with  the  shape 
of  the  adjacent  ground. 

I  shall  conclude  this  digression  by  observing  that 
on  a  dead  flat  or  plain  the  principal  apartments  ought 
to  be  elevated,  as  the  only  means  of  shewing  the  land- 
scape to  advantage.  Where  there  is  no  inequality,  it 
will  be  very  difficult  to  unite  any  artificial  ground  with 
the  natural  shape :  it  will  in  this  case  be  advisable  either 
to  raise  it  only  a  very  few  feet  or  to  set  the  house  on 
a  basement  storey.  But  wherever  a  park  abounds  in 
natural  inequalities,  even  though  the  ground  near  the 
house  should  be  flat,  we  may  boldly  venture  to  create 
an  artificial  knoll,  as  it  has  been  executed  at  Welbeck. 


Chapter  IV 


Water 


THERE  being  no  part  of  my  profession  so  cap- 
tivating in  its  effect,  and  oftentimes  so  readily 
executed,  as  making  a  large  piece  of  artificial  water,  it 
may  be  proper,  in  this  volume,  to  give  a  few  specimens 
of  different  improvements  presumed  to  have  been 
produced  by  it:  though,  if  all  that  I  have  written  to 
explain  and  elucidate  this  subject  were  to  be  inserted, 
the  whole  of  the  volume  would  be  engrossed  by  it.  I 
must,  therefore,  for  the  present,  only  mention  a  few 
places  where  artificial  pieces  of  water  have  been  orna- 
mented under  my  directions  :  ^  viz.  at  Holkham,  the 
magnificent  lake  has  been  dressed  by  walks  on  its 
banks,  and  a  peculiar  ferryboat  invented  to  unite  the 
opposite  shores. 

Welbeck.  From  the  number  of  small  promontories 
and  bays,  together  with  its  termination  full  in  view  of 
the  house,  the  water  at  Welbeck  had  acquired  the  char- 
acter, and  indeed  the  name,  of  a  lake :  but  as  a  large 
river  is  always  more  beautiful  than  a  small  lake,  the 
character  has  been  changed,  not  only  by  continuing  it 
beyond  the  house,  but  also  by  altering  its  line,  and 
taking  off  those  projections  which  were  inconsistent 
with  the  course  of  a  natural  river. 

Tatton  Park.  It  has  often  been  asserted  by  authors 
on  gardening  that  all  pieces  of  fresh  water  must  come 
under  one  of  these  descriptions,  —  a  lake^  2ipooly  a  river, 
or  a  rivulet :  but  since  my  acquaintance  with  Cheshire, 


Water  ^2 


I  am  inclined  to  add  the  meer,  as  an  intermediate  term 
between  the  lake  and  the  pool ;  it  being,  frequently, 
too  large  to  be  deemed  a  pool,  and  too  small  as  well 
as  too  round  in  its  form  to  deserve  the  name  of  a  lake: 
for  the  beauty  of  a  lake  consists  not  so  much  in  its  size 
as  in  those  deep  bays  and  bold  promontories  which 
prevent  the  eye  from  ranging  over  its  whole  surface. 
What  is  best  respecting  the  two  large  meers  in  Tatton 
Park  is  a  question  of  some  difficulty,  and  on  which 
there  has  been  a  variety  of  opinions.  I  shall  now  pro- 
ceed to  deliver  mine,  and  endeavour  to  explain  the 
reasons  on  which  it  is  founded. 

Unity  of  design  in  all  compositions  is,  confessedly, 
one  of  the  first  principles  in  each  of  the  polite  arts ; 
and  nothing,  perhaps,  evinces  more  strongly  the  love 
of  unity  acting  on  the  mind  in  landscape  gardening 
than  the  following  fact,  —  viz.  that  the  most  super- 
ficial observer  of  any  park  scene  will  be  displeased  by 
the  view  of  two  separate  pieces  of  water;  and  he  will 
probably  ask,  without  reflecting  on  the  difference  of 
levels,  why  they  are  not  formed  into  one?  The  first 
opinion  seems,  therefore,  that  these  two  waters  should 
be  united :  but  if  the  union  is  not  clearly  possible,  it 
certainly  ought  not  to  be  attempted.  The  second  opin- 
ion is  that  the  upper  pool  ought  to  be  destroyed,  or, 
as  some  express  themselves,  should  be  filled  up :  but 
the  latter  would  be  an  Herculean  labour  to  very  little 
purpose,  and  the  former,  though  practicable,  would 
not  be  advisable,  because  so  deep  a  hollow  immediately 
in  front  of  the  house  would  be  a  yawning  chasm,  very 
difficult  to  convert  into  an  object  of  beauty.  My  opin- 
ion, therefore,  is  that  the  two  waters  should,  from  the 
house,  appear  to  be  connected  with  each  other,  although 
in  reality  they  are  very  far  asunder ;  and  the  means  of 


34 


The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 


effecting  such  a  deception  will  require  some  theoretical 
reasoning  to  explain. 

The  deception  at  present  operates  to  the  disadvant- 
age of  the  waters,  for  I  was  myself  greatly  deceived  in 
the  size  of  this  pool  when  I  looked  at  it  from  the  house  ; 
and  as  it  produces  a  similar  effect  on  every  person  who 
first  sees  it,  I  must  explain  the  causes  of  the  deception. 

First.  The  net  fence  through  which  the  water  ap- 
pears is  so  near  the  windows  that,  by  the  laws  of  per- 
spective (of  which  I  will  explain  some  general  rules  in 
the  sequel),  it  acts  as  a  false  standard,  and  by  it  we 
measure  the  size  of  the  pool.  It  was  for  this  reason  that 
I  desired  some  cattle  might  be  driven  on  the  banks, 
which,  as  I  have  elsewhere  shewn,  are  the  best  standard 
for  assisting  the  judgement  with  respect  to  the  distance, 
and,  of  course,  the  dimensions  of  other  objects. 

Secondly.  The  pool  is  almost  circular,  and  the  eye 
darts  round  its  border  with  such  instantaneous  im- 
perceptible velocity  that  it  is  impossible  to  suppose 
its  circumference  to  be  nearly  a  mile,  unless  we  can 
see  cattle  on  the  opposite  shores  ;  and  then,  by  their 
respective  dimensions,  we  judge  of  the  comparative 
distance.  The  sheep  on  one  side  the  water  appear  to 
be  larger  than  the  cows  on  the  other.  The  bay  or  creek 
may  be  hid  by  shrubs,  which  will  give  the  eye  a  check 
in  its  circuitous  progress. 

To  explain  the  uses  of  the  other  bay  (which  seems 
to  connect  the  water  in  the  foreground  with  the  water 
in  the  distance),  I  must  take  the  liberty  to  describe 
some  effects  in  perspective,  not,  I  believe,  generally 
attended  to  in  gardening.  Perspective,  in  painting,  is 
known  to  be  of  two  kinds :  the  first  is  called  linear  per- 
spective, and  is  that  by  which  objects  appear  to  diminish 
in  proportion  to  the  distance  at  which  they  are  viewed. 


Water 


35 


This  I  have  here  already  mentioned,  in  referring  to  the 
use  of  cattle  as  a  scale  of  measurement :  a  horse,  a  cow, 
or  a  sheep  is  very  nearly  of  the  same  size,  and  with 
this  size  the  mind  is  perfectly  acquainted  ;  but  trees, 
bushes,  hills,  or  pools  of  water  are  so  various  in  their 
dimensions  that  we  are  never  able  to  judge  exactly  of 
their  size  or  at  what  distance  they  appear  to  us. 

The  second  kind  of  perspective  is  aerial,  as  it  depends 
on  the  atmosphere;  since  we  observe  that  objects  not 
only  diminish  in  their  size  but  in  their  distinctness,  in 
proportion  to  the  body  of  air  betwixt  the  eye  and  the 
objects :  those  nearest  are  strongly  represented,  while 
other  parts,  as  they  recede,  become  less  distinct,  till  at 
last  the  outline  of  a  distant  hill  seems  melting  into  the 
air  itself.  Such  are  the  laws  of  aerial  perspective  on  all 
objects,  but  not  on  all  alike ;  since  it  is  the  peculiar 
property  of  light,  and  the  reflection  of  light,  unmixed 
by  colour,  to  suffer  much  less  by  comparison  than  any 
other  object.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  are  so  much 
deceived  in  the  distance  of  perfectly  white  objects :  the 
light  reflected  from  a  whitewashed  house  makes  it 
appear  out  of  its  place ;  snow,  at  many  miles'  distance, 
appears  to  be  in  the  next  field ;  indeed,  so  totally  are 
we  unable  to  judge  of  light  that  a  meteor  within  our 
atmosphere  is  sometimes  mistaken  for  a  lantern ;  at 
others,  for  a  falling  star.  Water,  like  a  mirror,  reflect- 
ing the  Hght,  becomes  equally  uncertain  in  its  real 
distance  ;  and,  therefore,  an  apparent  union  of  the  two 
meers  in  Tatton  Park  may  be  effected  by  attending  to 
this  circumstance.  The  large  piece  of  water  crosses  the 
eye  in  the  view  from  the  house ;  consequently  it  looks 
much  less  considerable  than  it  really  is,  and  its  effect  is 
of  little  advantage  to  the  scene,  being  too  distant,  and 
too  widely  separated  by  the  vast  tract  of  low  ground 


36  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

betwixt  the  pool  and  the  lake.  I  propose  that  this 
water  should  be  rendered  more  interesting,  by  making 
it  appear  as  if  the  arm  of  a  river  proceeded  from  the 
lake ;  and  its  termination  will  easily  be  hid  in  the  (dis- 
tant) valley.  I  hope  it  will  appear  that  the  ideal  con- 
nexion of  the  two  waters  may  be  accomplished,  although 
the  actual  junction  is  impracticable.  The  facility  of  de- 
ception arises  from  the  causes  already  stated,  viz.  that 
water  is  a  mirror  from  which  light  is  strongly  reflected, 
and  that  of  the  distance  betwixt  any  light  and  the  eye 
we  form  a  very  inaccurate  judgement :  it  is,  therefore, 
impossible  to  know,  by  looking  on  the  surfaces  of  two 
distinct  waters,  whether  they  are  of  the  same  level, 
unless  some  ground  betwixt  them  assists  the  measure- 
ment. We  have,  therefore,  only  to  bring  the  two  meers 
nearer  to  each  other,  and  give  their  forms  such  curv- 
ature as  I  have  described,  to  produce  that  effect  of 
apparent  unity,  which  is  all  that  is  necessary  in  this 
instance. 

I  am  aware  of  the  common  objection  to  all  efforts 
that  may  be  deemed  deceptions ;  but  it  is  the  business 
of  taste,  in  all  the  polite  arts,  to  avail  itself  of  strata- 
gems by  which  the  imagination  may  be  deceived.  The 
images  of  poetry  and  of  painting  are  then  most  inter- 
esting when  they  seduce  the  mind  to  believe  their 
fictions ;  and  in  landscape  gardening  everything  may 
be  called  a  deception  by  which  we  endeavour  to  conceal 
the  agency  of  art  and  make  our  works  appear  the  sole 
product  of  nature.  The  most  common  attempts  to 
improve  may,  indeed,  be  called  deceptions :  we  plant 
a  hill  to  make  it  appear  higher  than  it  is ;  we  open  the 
banks  of  a  brook,  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  a  river ; 
or  stop  its  current,  to  produce  an  expanse  of  surface ; 
we  sink  the  fence  betwixt  one  lawn  and  another,  to 


Water  37 


give  imaginary  extent,  without  inconvenience  or  con- 
finement ;  and  every  piece  of  artificial  water,  whether  it 
take  the  shape  of  a  lake,  a  river,  or  a  pool,  must  look 
natural  or  it  will  fail  to  be  agreeable.  Nor  is  the  im- 
agination so  fastidious  as  to  take  offence  at  any  well- 
supported  deception,  even  after  the  want  of  reality  is 
discovered.  When  we  are  interested  at  a  tragedy,  we 
do  not  inquire  whence  the  characters  are  copied ;  on 
the  contrary,  we  forget  that  we  see  a  Garrick  or  a  Sid- 
dons,  and  join  in  the  sorrows  of  a  Belvidere  or  a 
Beverley,  though  we  know  that  no  such  persons  ever 
existed :  it  is  enough  if  so  much  as  we  are  shewn  of 
the  character  appears  to  be  a  just  resemblance  of  nature. 
In  the  same  manner  the  magnificent  water  at  Blen- 
heim strikes  with  wonder  and  delight,  while  we  neither 
see  its  beginning  nor  end ;  and  we  do  not  view  it  with 
less  pleasure  after  we  are  told  that  it  was  not  originally 
a  natural  lake,  but  that  Mr.  Brown,  stopping  the  cur- 
rent of  a  small  river,  collected  this  vast  body  of  water 
into  the  beautiful  shape  we  now  admire. 

Mr.  Burke  very  justly  observes  "that  a  true  artist 
should  put  a  generous  deceit  on  the  spectators,  and 
effect  the  noblest  designs  by  easy  methods.  Designs 
that  are  vast  only  by  their  dimensions  are  always  the 
sign  of  a  common  and  low  imagination.  No  work  of 
art  can  be  great  but  as  it  deceives ;  to  be  otherwise  is 
the  prerogative  of  nature  only."' 


Chapter  V 

Large  Private  Places^ 


WELBECK.  The  view  from  the  principal  apart- 
ments should  bear  some  proportion  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  house  itself;  not  so  much  in  the  quantity 
or  extent  of  the  prospect  as  in  the  nature  of  the  ob- 
jects which  compose  the  scenery;  an  extensive  prospect 
being  only  applicable  to  a  castle,  a  villa,  or  a  belvedere. 
The  landscape  from  a  palace  should  everywhere  appear 
appropriate  to  the  magnificence  or  pleasure  of  its  in- 
habitants :  the  whole  should  be,  or  at  least  appear  to 
be,  a  park,  unlimited  and  unconfined  by  those  lines 
of  division  or  boundary  which  characterize  the  large 
grass-fields  of  a  dairy-farm.  Yet  a  park  has  a  character 
distinct  from  a  forest;  for  while  we  admire  and  even 
imitate  the  romantic  wildness  of  nature,  we  ought  never 
to  forget  that  a  park  is  the  habitation  of  men,  and  not 
solely  devoted  to  beasts  of  the  forest.  I  am  convinced 
that  some  enthusiasic  admirers  of  uncultivated  nature 
are  too  apt  to  overlook  this  distinction.  Park  scenery 
compared  with  forest  scenery  is  like  an  historical  picture 
compared  with  a  landscape;  nature  must  alike  prevail 
in  both,  but  that  which  relates  to  man  should  have 
a  higher  place  in  the  scale  of  arts. 

The  objects  which  nature  has  furnished  at  Welbeck 
are  of  the  most  beautiful  kind,  and  truly  in  character 
with  the  dignity  of  the  place.  The  vast  range  of  woods, 
the  extensive  lawns,  the  broad  expanse  of  river,  and  the 
astonishing   oaks   scattered   about   the  park  seem   to 


i^H  i'    ' 

^■i  ^ 

Mi^^H.  ^> 

^HHt^' 

i^^^^R  ^ 

-r  ^^DH^^BI^^^^^^K^  f  I 

1 

:^. 

^^kV^^h 

n 

im  ^ 

m 

W 

^H 

i 

Large  Private  Places  39 

require  but  a  little  attention  from  art  to  mark  the  re- 
sidence of  a  noble  possessor ;  yet,  as  there  are  a  few 
instances  in  which  the  interference  of  art  can  openly  be 
acknowledged,  those  few  should  not  be  neglected. 
Buildings,  however  simple,  if  in  character  and  not  too 
numerous,  will  more  than  anything  contribute  to  dis- 
play magnificence. 

Woods  enriched  by  buildings,  and  water  enlivened 
by  a  number  of  pleasure-boats,  alike  contribute  to  mark 
a  visible  difference  betwixt  the  magnificent  scenery  of 
a  park  and  that  of  a  sequestered  forest:  the  trees,  the 
water,  the  lawns,  and  the  deer  are  alike  common  to  both. 

There  is  another  distinction  betwixt  park  and  forest 
scenery  on  which  I  shall  beg  leave  to  state  my  opinion, 
as  it  has  been  a  topic  of  some  doubt  and  difficulty 
amongst  the  admirers  of  my  profession,  viz.  how  far 
gravel  roads  are  admissible  across  the  lawns  of  a  park : 
yet  surely  very  little  doubt  will  remain  on  this  subject 
when  we  consider  a  park  as  a  place  of  residence;  and 
see  the  great  inconvenience  to  which  grass  roads  are 
continually  liable. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  discover  two  reasons  which 
may  have  given  rise  to  the  common  technical  objection 
that  a  gravel  road  cuts  up  a  lawn :  the  first  arises  from 
the  effect  observed  after  an  avenue  has  been  destroyed, 
where  the  straight  line  of  gravel,  which  formerly  was 
less  offensive  while  accompanied  by  trees,  becomes  in- 
tolerable when  it  divides  a  small  lawn  directly  through 
the  middle.  The  other  arises  from  the  effect  which  even 
a  winding  turnpike  road  has  in  destroying  the  seques- 
tered and  solemn  dignity  of  forest  scenery :  but  in  a  park 
a  road  of  convenience  and  of  breadth  proportioned  to 
its  intention  as  an  approach  to  the  house  for  visitors 
will  often  be  a  circumstance  of  great  beauty;  and  is  a 


40  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

characteristic  ornament  of  art,  allowable  in  the  finest 
inhabited  scenes  of  nature. 

Wembly.  The  park^  at  Wembly  is  only  defective  in 
two  circumstances:  the  first  is  the  common  defect  of 
all  places  where  hedges  have  been  recently  removed  and 
too  many  single  trees  are  left ;  the  natural  reluctance 
felt  by  every  man  of  taste  and  experience  to  cut  down 
large  trees,  at  the  same  time  that  he  sees  the  unpleas- 
ant effect  of  artificial  rows,  is  very  apt  to  suggest  the 
idea  of  breaking  those  rows  by  planting  many  young 
trees;  and  thus  the  whole  composition  becomes  frittered 
into  small  parts,  which  are  neither  compatible  with  the 
ideas  of  ^»he  sublime  nor  beautiful.  The  masses  of  light 
and  shade,  whether  in  a  natural  landscape  or  a  picture, 
must  be  broad  and  unbroken,  or  the  eye  will  be  dis- 
tracted by  the  flutter  of  the  scene;  and  the  mind  will  be 
rather  employed  in  retracing  the  former  lines  of  hedge- 
rows than  in  admiring  the  ample  extent  of  lawn  and 
continuity  of  wood  which  alone  distinguishes  the  park 
from  the  grass-  or  dairy-farm.  This  defect  will  of  course 
easily  be  remedied  when  the  new  plantations  shall  have 
acquired  a  few  years'  growth,  and  many  of  the  old  trees 
shall  be  either  taken  down  or  blended  into  closer 
groups  by  young  ones  planted  very  near  them:  but 
there  can  be  little  occasion  for  dotting  young  trees  with 
such  profusion,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  of 
several  hundred  such  trees  now  scattered  upon  the  lawn 
not  more  than  twenty  can  be  absolutely  necessary. 

The  other  defect  of  Wembly  arises  from  a  sameness 
of  objects ;  and  this  is  a  defect  common  to  all  the 
countries  where  the  grass-land  is  more  generally  mowed 
than  fed.  It  proves,  what  no  landscape  painter  ever 
doubted,  that  a  scene  consisting  of  vegetable  produc- 
tions only  can  seldom  make  a  pleasing  picture.  The 


Large  Private  Places  41 

contrasted  greens  of  wood  and  lawn  are  not  sufficient 
to  gratify  the  eye ;  it  requires  other  objects,  and  those 
of  different  colours,  such  as  rocks,  water,  and  cattle ; 
but  where  these  natural  objects  cannot  easily  be  had, 
the  variety  may  be  obtained  by  artificial  means,  such 
as  a  building,  a  tent,  or  a  road ;  and,  perhaps,  there  is 
no  object  more  useful  in  such  countries  than  a  good- 
coloured  gravel  road,  gracefully  winding,  and  of  course 
describing  those  gentle  swells  of  the  ground  which  are 
hardly  perceptible  from  the  uniform  colour  of  grass- 
land. The  approach-road  to  the  house  will  be  a  feature 
on  the  lawn,  both  as  seen  from  thence  and  also  from 
the  high  ground  about  the  park.  Cattle  might  be  more 
frequently  introduced  than  seems  to  be  the  custom  of 
this  country,  especially  sheep,  than  which  nothing  con- 
tributes more  to  enliven  a  lawn  and  even  to  improve 
and  fertilize  its  verdure ;  and  though  some  objections 
may  arise,  from  the  nature  of  the  soil,  they  are  by  no 
means  insurmountable. 

Castle  Hill.  A  scene,  however  beautiful  in  itself, 
will  soon  lose  its  interest  unless  it  is  enlivened  by  mov- 
ing objects.  [Plate  v.]  This  may  be  effected  by  sunk 
fences ;  and  from  the  shape  of  the  ground,  there  is 
another  material  use  in  having  cattle  to  feed  the  lawn 
before  the  windows.  The  eye  forms  a  very  inaccurate 
judgement  of  extent,  unless  there  be  some  standard  by 
which  it  can  be  measured ;  bushes  and  trees  are  of 
such  various  sizes  that  it  is  impossible  to  use  them  as 
a  measure  of  distance  ;  but  the  size  of  a  horse,  a  sheep, 
or  a  cow  varies  so  little  that  we  immediately  judge  of 
their  distance  from  their  apparent  diminution,  accord- 
ing to  the  distance  at  which  they  are  placed ;  and  as 
they  occasionally  change  their  situation,  they  break 
that  surface  over  which  the  eye  passes,  without  observ- 


42  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

ing  it,  to  the  first  object  it  meets  to  rest  upon.  It  has 
been  objected  to  the  sHdes  with  which  I  elucidate  my 
proposed  alterations  that  I  generally  introduce  in  the 
improved  view  boats  on  the  water  and  cattle  on  the 
lawns.  To  this  I  answer  that  both  are  real  objects  of 
improvement,  and  give  animation  to  the  scene  ;  indeed 
it  cannot  be  too  often  inculcated  that  a  large  lake  with- 
out boats  is  a  dreary  waste  of  water,  and  a  large  lawn 
without  cattle  is  one  of  the  melancholy  appendages  of 
solitary  grandeur  observable  in  the  pleasure-grounds 
of  the  past  century. 

Wembly.  The  expedient  of  producing  variety  at 
Wembly,  by  buildings,  is  perhaps  the  most  difficult, 
and  requires  the  greatest  attention  ;  because  one  source 
of  our  admiration  is  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
metropolis  a  place  should  exist  so  perfectly  secluded 
and  detached  from  the  "  busy  haunts  of  men  " :  we 
must,  therefore,  be  particularly  cautious  that  every 
building  should  appear  to  be  an  appendage  or  inmate 
of  the  place,  and  not  a  neighbour  intruding  on  its 
privacy.  From  hence  arose  some  difficulty  in  the  style 
of  building  proper  for  the  prospect  on  the  hill  —  a  very 
small  one  would  have  been  inadequate  to  the  purpose 
of  containing  such  companies  as  may  resort  thither,  as 
well  as  forming  a  dwelling-house  for  those  who  should 
have  the  care  of  the  prospect  rooms  and  the  dairy ; 
yet  in  building  a  large  house  there  was  danger  of  mak- 
ing it  appear  to  belong  to  some  other  person. 

To  the  common  observer,  the  beauties  of  Wembly 
may  appear  to  need  no  improvement ;  but  it  is  the 
duty  of  my  profession  to  discover  how  native  charms 
may  be  heightened  by  the  assistance  of  taste :  and  that 
even  beauty  itself  may  be  rendered  more  beautiful,  this 
place  will  furnish  a  striking  example. 


Chapter  VI 

Fonnal  Gardening 


THERE  is  no  part  of  my  profession  more  difficult 
and  troublesome  than  the  attempt  to  modernise, 
in  part  only,  those  places  which  have  been  formerly 
decorated  by  the  line  and  square  of  geometric  taste. 
To  explain  this  difficulty,  I  will  briefly  state  the  differ- 
ence between  the  principles  on  which  improvements  are 
now  conducted  and  those  which  governed  the  style  of 
former  periods. 

The  perfection  of  landscape  gardening  consists  in 
the  four  following  requisites  :  First,  it  must  display  the 
natural  beauties  and  hide  the  natural  defects  of  every 
situation.  Secondly,  it  should  give  the  appearance  of 
extent  and  freedom,  by  carefully  disguising  or  hiding 
the  boundary.  Thirdly,  it  must  studiously  conceal 
every  interference  of  art,  however  expensive,  by  which 
the  scenery  is  improved,  making  the  whole  appear  the 
production  of  nature  only ;  and,  fourthly,  all  objects 
of  mere  convenience  or  comfort,  if  incapable  of  being 
made  ornamental,  or  of  becoming  proper  parts  of  the 
general  scenery,  must  be  removed  or  concealed.  Con- 
venience and  comfort,  I  confess,  have  occasionally 
misled  modern  improvers  into  the  absurdity  of  not 
only  banishing  the  appearance  but  the  reality  of  all 
comfort  and  convenience  to  a  distance ;  as  I  have 
frequently  found  in  the  bad  choice  of  a  spot  for  the 
kitchen-garden. 

Each  of  the  four  objects  here  enumerated  is  directly 


44  The  Art  of  Landscape    Gardening 

opposite  to  the  principles  of  ancient  gardening,  which 
may  thus  be  stated.  First,  the  natural  beauties  or  de- 
fects of  a  situation  had  no  influence,  when  it  was  the 
fashion  to  exclude,  by  lofty  walls,  every  surrounding 
object.  Secondly,  these  walls  were  never  considered  as 
defects;  but,  on  the  contrary,  were  ornamented  with 
vases,  expensive  iron  gates,  and  palisades,  to  render 
them  more  conspicuous.  Thirdly,  so  far  from  making 
gardens  appear  natural,  every  expedient  was  used  to 
display  the  expensive  efforts  of  art,  by  which  nature 
had  been  subdued:  —  the  ground  was  levelled  by  a 
line ;  the  water  was  squared,  or  scollopped  into  regular 
basins ;  the  trees,  if  not  clipped  into  artificial  shape, 
were  at  least  so  planted  by  line  and  measurement  that 
the  formal  hand  of  art  could  nowhere  be  mistaken. 
And,  lastly,  with  respect  to  objects  of  convenience, 
they  were  placed  as  near  the  house  as  possible:  —  the 
stables,  the  barns,  and  the  kitchen-garden  were  among 
the  ornaments  of  a  place  ;  while  the  village,  the  alms- 
house, the  parish  school,  and  churchyard  were  not 
attempted  to  be  concealed  by  the  walls  or  palisades  that 
divided  them  from  the  embellished  pleasure-ground. 

Lathom.  Congruity  of  style,  uniformity  of  charac- 
ter, and  harmony  of  parts  with  the  whole  are  different 
modes  of  expressing  that  unity,  without  which  no  com- 
position can  be  perfect :  yet  there  are  few  principles  in 
gardening  which  seem  to  be  so  little  understood.  This 
essential  unity  has  often  been  mistaken  for  symmetry, 
or  the  correspondence  of  similar  parts;  as  where 

*'  Grove  nods  at  grove,  each  alley  has  a  brother. 
And  half  the  platform  just  reflects  the  other." 

Pope. 

Indeed,  this  symmetry  in  the  works  of  art  was  perfectly 
justifiable  under  that  style  of  gardening  which  confined. 


Formal  Gardening  45 

within  lofty  walls,  the  narrow  enclosure  appropriated  to 
ancient  grandeur. 

When  the  whole  design  is  meant  to  be  surveyed  at 
a  single  glance,  the  eye  is  assisted  in  its  office  by  mak- 
ing its  divisions  counterparts  of  each  other ;  and  as  it 
was  confessedly  the  object  of  the  artist  to  display  his 
labour,  and  the  greatness  of  the  effort  by  which  he  had 
subdued  nature,  it  could  not  possibly  be  more  conspic- 
uous than  in  such  shapes  of  land  and  water  as  were  most 
unnatural  and  violent.  Hence  arose  the  flat  terrace,  the 
square  and  octagon  pool,  and  all  those  geometric  figures 
which  were  intended  to  contrast  and  not  to  assimilate 
with  any  scenes  in  nature.  Yet  within  this  small  enclos- 
ure an  unity  of  design  was  strictly  preserved,  and  few 
attempts  made  to  extend  it  farther  than  the  garden  wall. 

From  the  prodigious  difference  of  taste  in  gardening 
betwixt  the  last  and  the  present  century,  it  seems,  at  first 
sight,  almost  impossible  to  lay  down  any  fixed  princi- 
ples ;  but,  on  duly  considering  the  subject,  it  will  be 
found  that  in  this  instance,  as  well  as  in  many  others, 
mankind  are  apt  to  fly  from  one  extreme  to  the  other; 
thus,  because  straight  lines,  and  highly  finished  and  cor- 
respondent parts  prevailed  in  the  ancient  style,  some 
modern  improvers  have  mistaken  crookedness  for  the 
line  of  beauty,  and  slovenly  carelessness  for  natural  ease ; 
they  call  every  species  of  regularity  formal,  and,  with 
the  hackneyed  assertion  that  "  nature  abhors  a  straight 
line,"  they  fatigue  the  eye  with  continual  curvatures. 

There  appears  to  be  in  the  human  mind  a  natural  love 
of  order  and  symmetry.  Children  who  at  first  draw 
a  house  upon  a  slate  generally  represent  it  with  corre- 
spondent parts.  It  is  so  with  the  infancy  of  taste ;  those 
who,  during  the  early  part  of  life,  have  given  little  at- 
tention to  objects  of  taste,  are  captivated  with  the  reg- 


46  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

ularity  and  symmetry  of  correspondent  parts,  without 
any  knowledge  of  congruity  or  a  harmony  of  parts  with 
the  whole.  This  accounts  for  those  numerous  specimens 
of  bad  taste  which  are  too  commonly  observable  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  great  towns,  where  we  see  Grecian 
villas  spreading  their  little  Gothic  wings,  and  red-brick 
castles  supported  by  Grecian  pavilions;  but  though 
congruity  may  be  banished,  symmetry  is  never  forgotten. 
If  such  be  the  love  of  symmetry  in  the  human  mind, 
it  surely  becomes  a  fair  object  of  inquiry,  how  far  it 
ought  to  be  admitted  or  rejected  in  modern  gardening. 
The  following  observation  from  Montesquieu,  on 
Taste,'°  seems  to  set  the  matter  in  a  fair  light: 

"Wherever  symmetry  is  useful  to  the  soul,  and  may 
assist  her  functions,  it  is  agreeable  to  her;  but  wherever 
it  is  useless,  it  becomes  distasteful,  because  it  takes  away 
variety.  Therefore,  things  that  we  see  in  succession 
ought  to  have  variety,  for  our  soul  has  no  difficulty  in 
seeing  them  ;  those,  on  the  contrary,  that  we  see  at  one 
glance,  ought  to  have  symmetry:  thus,  at  one  glance 
we  see  the  front  of  a  building,  a  parterre,  a  temple;  in 
such  things  there  is  always  a  symmetry  which  pleases 
the  soul  by  the  facility  it  gives  her  of  taking  in  the  whole 
object  at  once." 

It  is  upon  this  principle  that  I  have  frequently 
advised  the  most  perfect  symmetry  in  those  small 
flower-gardens  which  are  generally  placed  in  the  front 
of  a  greenhouse,  or  orangery,  in  some  inner  part  of 
the  grounds;  where,  being  secluded  from  the  general 
scenery,  they  become  a  kind  of  episode  to  the  great  and 
more  conspicuous  parts  of  the  place.  In  such  small 
enclosures  irregularity  would  appear  like  affectation. 
Symmetry  is  also  allowable,  and  indeed  necessary,  at 
or  near  the  front  of  a  regular  building;  because,  where 


Formal  Gardening  47 

that  displays  correspondent  parts,  if  the  lines  in  con- 
tact do  not  also  correspond,  the  house  itself  will  appear 
twisted  and  awry.  Yet  this  degree  of  symmetry  ought 
to  go  no  farther  than  a  small  distance  from  the  house, 
and  should  be  confined  merely  to  such  objects  as  are 
confessedly  works  of  art  for  the  uses  of  man  ;  such  as 
a  road,  a  walk,  or  an  ornamental  fence,  whether  of 
wood  or  iron;  but  it  is  not  necessary  that  it  should 
extend  to  plantations,  canals,  or  over  the  natural  shape 
of  the  ground.  "In  forming  plans  for  embellishing  a 
field,  an  artist  without  taste  employs  straight  lines,  cir- 
cles, and  squares,  because  these  look  best  upon  paper. 
He  perceives  not  that  to  humour  and  adorn  nature  is 
the  perfection  of  his  art;  and  that  nature,  neglecting 
regularity,  distributes  her  objects  in  great  variety,  with 
a  bold  hand.  (Some  old  gardens  were  disposed  like  the 
human  frame;  alleys,  like  legs  and  arms,  answering 
each  other;  the  great  walk  in  the  middle  representing 
the  trunk  of  the  body.)  Nature,  indeed,  in  organised 
bodies  comprehended  under  one  view,  studies  regu- 
larity; which,  for  the  same  reason,  ought  to  be  studied 
in  architecture;  but  in  large  objects,  which  cannot  be 
surveyed  but  in  parts,  and  by  succession,  regularity  and 
uniformity  would  be  useless  properties,  because  they 
cannot  be  discovered  by  the  eye.  Nature,  therefore,  in 
her  large  works,  neglects  these  properties ;  and  in  copy- 
ing nature,  the  artist  ought  to  neglect  them."  " 

Lathom.  It  is  hardly  to  be  conceived  how  much  this 
view  to  the  north  will  be  improved  by  the  removal  of 
the  large  square  pond.  [Plate  vi.]  Water  reflecting  only 
the  sky  (which  is  the  case  with  this  and  every  other 
pond  raised  above  the  level  of  the  natural  ground)  acts 
like  a  mass  of  light  placed  betwixt  the  eye  and  the  more 
distant  objects.  Every  one  knows  the  effect  that  a  Ian- 


48  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

tern  or  a  torch  has,  to  prevent  our  seeing  what  is  be- 
yond it;  and  this  same  cause  operates  in  all  cases  in 
proportion  to  the  quantity  of  rays  reflected,  whether 
from  water,  from  snow,  from  white  paling,  or  any  other 
luminous  object.  This  accounts  for  the  pleasure  we 
derive  from  seeing  water  at  a  proper  distance,  and  of  a 
natural  shape.  Water  is  said  to  attract  our  notice  with 
irresistible  power ;  but  the  pond  at  Lathom,  placed  in 
the  foreground,  engrosses  too  much  of  the  landscape, 
and  is  neither  sufficiently  pleasing  in  its  shape  nor 
natural  in  its  situation  to  deserve  the  place  it  holds  as 
the  leading  feature  of  the  scene. 

The  management  of  the  view  to  the  north  will  fur- 
ther serve  to  elucidate  another  general  principle  in  gar- 
dening, viz.  that  although  we  do  not  require  a  strict 
symmetry  in  the  two  sides  of  the  landscape,  yet  there 
is  a  certain  balance  of  composition,'^  without  which 
the  eye  is  not  perfectly  satisfied.  The  two  screens  of 
wood  beyond  the  pond  may  be  varied  and  contrasted ; 
that  to  the  west  may  be  left  as  a  thick  and  impenetrable 
mass  of  trees  and  underwood,  while  a  great  part  of  that 
to  the  east  should  be  converted  into  an  open  grove ; 
thus  destroying  the  formality,  while  the  balance  of 
composition  may  still  be  preserved. 


Chapter  VII 

Approaches  '^ 


THE  road  by  which  a  stranger  Is  supposed  to  pass 
through  the  park  or  lawn  to  the  house  is  called 
an  approach ;  and  there  seems  the  same  relation  betwixt 
the  approach  and  the  house  externally  that  there  is 
internally  betwixt  the  hall  or  entrance  and  the  several 
apartments  to  which  it  leads.  If  the  hall  be  too  large 
or  too  small,  too  mean  or  too  much  ornamented  for 
the  style  of  the  house,  there  is  a  manifest  incongruity 
in  the  architecture,  by  which  good  taste  will  be 
offended ;  but  if  the  hall  be  so  situated  as  not  to  con- 
nect well  with  the  several  apartments  to  which  it  ought 
to  lead,  it  will  then  be  defective  in  point  of  conven- 
ience. 

So  it  is  with  respect  to  an  approach  :  —  it  ought  to 
be  convenient,  interesting,  and  in  strict  harmony  with 
the  character  and  situation  of  the  mansion  to  which  it 
belongs. 

There  seems  to  be  as  much  absurdity  in  carrying  an 
approach  round,  to  include  those  objects  which  do  not 
naturally  fall  within  its  reach,  as  there  was  formerly  in 
cutting  through  a  hill,  to  obtain  a  straight  line  point- 
ing to  the  hall  door.  A  line  of  red  gravel  across  a  lawn 
is  apt  to  offend,  by  cutting  it  into  parts,  and  destroy- 
ing the  unity  of  verdure,  so  pleasing  to  the  eye.  But 
I  have  in  some  places  seen  the  aversion  of  showing 
a  road  carried  to  such  a  length,  that  a  gap  has  been  dug 
in  the  lawn,  by  way  of  road ;  and,  in  order  to  hide  it, 


50  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

the  approach  to  a  palace  must  be  made  along  a  ditch. 
In  other  places,  I  have  seen  what  is  called  a  grass 
approach,  which  is  a  broad,  hard  road,  thinly  covered 
with  bad  verdure,  or  even  moss,  to  hide  it  from  the 
sight ;  and  thus,  in  a  dusky  evening,  after  wandering 
about  the  park  in  search  of  a  road,  we  suddenly  find 
ourselves  upon  grass,  at  the  door  of  the  mansion,  with- 
out any  appearance  of  mortals  ever  having  before 
approached  its  solitary  entrance. 

Thus  do  improvers  seem  to  have  mistaken  the  most 
obvious  meaning  of  an  approach,  which  is  simply  this 
—  a  road  to  the  house.  If  that  road  be  greatly  cir- 
cuitous, no  one  will  use  it  when  a  much  nearer  is  dis- 
covered :  but  if  there  be  two  roads  of  nearly  the  same 
length,  and  one  be  more  beautiful  than  the  other,  the 
man  of  taste  will  certainly  prefer  it ;  while,  perhaps, 
the  clown,  insensible  to  every  object  around  him,  will 
indifferently  use  either. 

The  requisites  to  a  good  approach  may  be  thus 
enumerated  : 

First.  An  approach  is  a  road  to  the  house ;  and  to 
that  principally. 

Secondly.  If  it  is  not  naturally  the  nearest  road 
possible,  it  ought  artificially  to  be  made  impossible  to 
go  a  nearer. 

Thirdly.  The  artificial  obstacles  which  make  this 
road  the  nearest  ought  to  appear  natural. 

Fourthly.  Where  an  approach  quits  the  highroad, 
it  ought  not  to  break  from  it  at  right  angles,  or  in  such 
a  manner  as  robs  the  entrance  of  importance;  but 
rather  at  some  bend  of  the  public  road,  from  whence 
a  lodge,  or  gate,  may  be  more  conspicuous  ;  and  where 
the  highroad  may  appear  to  branch  from  the  approach, 
rather  than  the  approach  from  the  highroad. 


Approaches 


51 


Fifthly.  After  the  approach  enters  the  park,  it  should 
avoid  skirting  along  its  boundary,  which  betrays  the 
want  of  extent  or  unity  of  property. 

Sixthly.  The  house,  unless  very  large  and  magni- 
ficent, should  not  be  seen  at  so  great  a  distance  as  to 
make  it  appear  much  smaller  than  it  really  is. 

Seventhly.  The  house  should  be  at  first  presented  in 
a  pleasing  point  of  view. 

Eighthly.  As  soon  as  the  house  is  visible  from  the 
approach,  there  should  be  no  temptation  to  quit  it  — 
which  will  ever  be  the  case  if  the  road  be  at  all  cir- 
cuitous—  unless  sufficient  obstacles,  such  as  water  or 
inaccessible  ground,  appear  to  justify  its  course. 

I  shall  not  here  speak  of  the  convenience  or  incon- 
venience of  a  large  town  situated  very  near  a  park,  but 
of  the  influence  that  the  proximity  of  a  large  town  has 
on  the  character  of  a  park,  which  is  very  considerable, 
because  it  must  either  serve  to  increase  or  to  diminish 
its  importance ;  the  latter  is  at  present  the  case  with 
respect  to  Tatton  and  Knutsford. 

The  first  essential  of  greatness  in  a  place  is  the  ap- 
pearance of  united  and  uninterrupted  property,  and  it 
is  in  vain  that  this  is  studied  within  the  pale,  if  it  is  too 
visibly  contradicted  without  it.  It  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  a  large  manufacturing  town,  like  Knutsford, 
can  be  the  entire  property  of  one  individual ;  but  the 
proportion  of  interest  belonging  to  the  adjoining 
family  should  impress  the  mind  with  a  sense  of  its 
influence. 

There  are  various  ways  by  which  this  effect  is 
occasionally  produced,  and  1  will  mention  some  of 
them,  viz.  the  church  and  churchyard  may  be  deco- 
rated in  a  style  that  shall  in  some  degree  correspond 
with   that  of  the   mansion;  —  the    market-house,   or 


52  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

other  public  edifice,  an  obelisk,  or  even  a  mere  stone, 
with  distances,  may  be  made  an  ornament  to  the  town, 
and  bear  the  arms  of  the  family  ;  or  the  same  arms  may 
be  the  sign  of  the  principal  inn  of  the  place. 


Chapter  VIII 

Affinity  betwixt  Painting  and  Gardening 


IT  has  already  been  remarked  In  this  volume  that 
there  ought  to  be  some  difference  betwixt  a  park 
and  a  forest ;  and  as  the  whole  of  that  false  and  nas- 
taken  theory,  which  Mr.  Knight  endeavours  to  ii  cro- 
duce  by  confounding  the  two  ideas,  proceeds  from  not 
duly  considering  the  degree  of  affinity  betwixt  painting 
and  gardening,  I  shall  transcribe  a  few  passages  from 
manuscripts,  written  long  before  I  saw  his  poem ; 
although  the  inquiry  was  originally  suggested  by  con- 
versations I  have  occasionally  had,  both  with  Mr. 
Knight  and  Mr.  Price,  at  their  respective  seats  in  the 
county  of  Hereford. 

A  great  difference  betwixt  a  scene  in  nature  and  a 
picture  on  canvas  will  arise  from  the  following  consid- 
erations: 

First.  The  spot  from  whence  the  view  is  taken  is  In 
a  fixed  state  to  the  painter,  but  the  gardener  surveys  his 
scenery  while  in  motion,  and  from  different  windows 
in  the  same  front  he  sees  objects  In  different  situations; 
therefore,  to  give  an  accurate  portrait  of  the  gardener's 
improvement  would  require  pictures  from  each  separ- 
ate window,  and  even  a  different  drawing  at  the  most 
trifling  change  of  situation,  either  in  the  approach,  the 
walks,  or  the  drives,  about  each  place. 

Secondly.  The  quantity  of  view,  or  field  of  vision,  is 
much  greater  than  any  picture  will  admit. 

Thirdly.  The  view  from  an  eminence  down  a  steep 


54  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

hill  is  not  to  be  represented  in  painting,  although  it  is 
often  one  of  the  most  pleasing  circumstances  of  natural 
landscape. 

Fourthly.  The  light  which  the  painter  may  bring 
from  any  point  of  the  compass  must,  in  real  scenery, 
depend  on  the  time  of  day.  It  must  also  be  remem- 
bered that  the  light  of  a  picture  can  only  be  made 
strong  by  contrast  of  shade ;  while  in  nature  every  ob- 
ject may  be  strongly  illumined  without  destroying  the 
composition  or  disturbing  the  keeping.  And, 

Lastly.  The  foreground,  which,  by  framing  the  view, 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  picture,  is  often  totally 
deficient,  or  seldom  such  as  a  painter  chooses  to  repre- 
sent; since  the  neat  gravel  walk  or  close-mown  lawn 
would  ill  supply  the  place,  in  painting,  of  a  rotten  tree, 
a  bunch  of  docks,  or  a  broken  road,  passing  under  a 
steep  bank,  covered  with  briers,  nettles,  and  ragged 
thorns. 

Real  landscape,  or  that  which  my  art  professes  to 
improve,  is  not  always  capable  of  being  represented  on 
paper  or  canvas  ;  for  although  the  rules  for  good  nat- 
ural landscape  may  be  found  in  the  best  painters'  works, 
in  which 

"we  ne'er  shall  find 
Dull  uniformity,  contrivance  quaint. 
Or  labour'd  littleness  ;  but  contrasts  broad. 
And  careless  lines,  whose  undulating  forms 
Play  though  the  varied  canvas ' '  ; 

Mason. 

yet  Monsieur  Gerardin"*  is  greatly  mistaken  when  he 
directs  that  no  scene  in  nature  should  be  attempted 
till  it  has  first  been  painted.  And  I  apprehend  the  cause 
of  his  mistake  to  be  this  :  in  an  artificial  landscape  the 
foreground  is  the  most  important  object;  indeed, some 


Affinity  Between  Painting  and  Gardening    55 

of  the  most  beautiful  pictures  of  Claude  de  Lorraine  con- 
sist of  a  dark  foreground,  with  a  very  small  opening 
to  distant  country.  But  this  ought  not  to  be  copied  in 
the  principal  view  from  the  windows  of  a  large  house, 
because  it  can  only  have  its  effect  from  one  window  out 
of  many ;  and,  consequently,  the  others  must  all  be 
sacrificed  to  this  sole  object.  In  a  picture,  the  eye  is 
confined  within  certain  limits,  and  unity  is  preserved 
by  artificial  means,  incapable  of  being  applied  to  real 
landscape,  in  all  the  extent  which  Monsieur  Gerardin 
recommends. 

By  landscape,  I  mean  a  view  capable  of  being  repre- 
sented in  painting.  It  consists  of  two,  three,  or  more 
well-marked  distances,  each  separated  from  the  other  by 
an  unseen  space,  which  the  imagination  delights  to  fill 
up  with  fancied  beauties  that  may  not  perhaps  exist 
in  reality. 

**  Of  Nature's  various  scenes,  the  painter  culls 
That  for  his  favourite  theme,  vv^here  the  fair  whole 
Is  broken  into  ample  parts,  and  bold  ; 
Where,  to  the  eye,  three  well-mark' d  distances 
Spread  their  peculiar  colouring. '  * 

Mason. 

Here  Mr.  Mason  supposes  an  affinity  between  paint- 
ing and  gardening,  which  will  be  found,  on  a  more 
minute  examination,  not  strictly  to  exist. 

The  landscape  painter  considers  all  these  three  dis- 
tances as  objects  equally  within  the  power  of  his  art;  but 
his  composition  must  have  a  foreground;  and  though 
it  may  only  consist  of  a  single  tree,  a  rail,  or  a  piece  of 
broken  road,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  painter's 
landscape. 

The  subjects  of  the  landscape  gardener  are  very  dif- 
ferent ;  though  his  scenery  requires,  also,  to  be  broken 


^6  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

into  distinct  parts  or  distances,  because  the  eye  is  never 
long  delighted,  unless  the  imagination  has  some  share 
in  its  pleasure:  an  intricacy  and  entanglement  of  parts 
heighten  the  satisfaction.  The  landscape  gardener  may 
also  class  his  distances  under  three  distinct  characters, 
but  very  different  from  those  of  the  painter.  The  first 
includes  that  part  of  the  scene  which  is  in  his  power  to 
improve;  the  second,  that  which  is  not  in  his  power 
to  prevent  being  injured ;  and  the  third,  that  which 
is  not  in  the  power  of  himself,  or  any  other,  either  to 
injure  or  improve.  The  part  which  the  painter  calls  his 
middle  distance  is  often  that  which  the  landscape  gar- 
dener finds  under  the  control  of  others;  and  the  fore- 
ground of  the  painter  can  seldom  be  introduced  into 
the  composition  of  the  gardener's  landscape,  from  the 
whole  front  of  a  house,  because  the  best  landscapes  of 
Claude  will  be  found  to  owe  their  beauty  to  that  kind 
of  foreground  which  could  only  be  applied  to  one  par- 
ticular window  of  a  house,  and  would  exclude  all  view 
from  that  adjoining. 

The  enthusiasm  for  picturesque  effect  seems  to  have 
so  completely  bewildered  the  author  of  the  poem 
already  mentioned  that  he  not  only  mistakes  the  essen- 
tial difference  between  the  landscape  painter  and  the 
landscape  gardener,  but  appears  even  to  forget  that  a 
dwelling-house  is  an  object  of  comfort  and  convenience, 
for  the  purposes  of  habitation,  and  not  merely  the 
frame  to  a  landscape,  or  the  foreground  to  a  rural 
picture.  The  want  of  duly  considering  the  affinity 
between  painting  and  gardening  is  the  source  of  those 
errors  and  false  principles  which  I  find  too  frequently 
prevailing  in  the  admirers  of  or  connoisseurs  in  paint- 
ing :  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  acknowledge  that  I  once 
supposed  the  two  arts  to  be  more  intimately  connected 


Affinity  Between  Painting  and  Gardening    57 


than  my  practice  and  experience  have  since  confirmed. 
I  am  not  less  an  admirer  of  those  scenes  which  paint- 
ing represents  ;  but  I  have  discovered  that  utility  must 
often  take  the  lead  of  beauty,  and  convenience  be  pre- 
ferred to  picturesque  effect,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
man's  habitation.  Gardening  must  include  the  two 
opposite  characters  of  native  wildness  and  artificial 
comfort,  each  adapted  to  the  genius  and  character  of 
the  place,  yet  ever  mindful  that,  near  the  residence 
of  man,  convenience,  and  not  picturesque  effect,  must 
have  the  preference,  wherever  they  are  placed  in  com- 
petition with  each  other. 


Chapter  IX 

Sources  of  Pleasure  in  Landscape  Gardening 


AFTER  sedulously  endeavouring  to  discover  the 
causes  of  the  pleasure  that  the  mind  receives 
from  landscape  gardening,  I  think  it  may  occasionally 
be  attributed  to  each  of  the  following  different  heads: 

I.  Congruity ;  or  a  proper  adaptation  of  the  several 
parts  to  the  whole ;  and  that  whole  to  the  character, 
situation,  and  circumstances  of  the  place  and  its 
possessor. 

II.  Utility.  This  includes  convenience,  comfort, 
neatness,  and  everything  that  conduces  to  the  purposes 
of  habitation  with  elegance. 

III.  Order.  Including  correctness  and  finishing;  the 
cultivated  mind  is  shocked  by  such  things  as  would 
not  be  visible  to  the  clown  :  thus,  an  awkward  bend 
in  a  walk,  or  lines  which  ought  to  be  parallel,  and 
are  not  so,  give  pain  ;  as  a  serpentine  walk  through 
an  avenue,  or  along  the  course  of  a  straight  wall  or 
building. 

IV.  Symmetry ;  or  that  correspondence  of  parts  ex- 
pected in  the  front  of  buildings,  particularly  Grecian, 
which,  however  formal  in  a  painting,  require  similar- 
ity and  uniformity  of  parts  to  please  the  eye,  even  of 
children.  So  natural  is  the  love  of  order  and  of  sym- 
metry to  the  human  mind  that  it  is  not  surprising  it 
should  have  extended  itself  into  our  gardens,  where 
nature  itself  was  made  subservient  by  cutting  trees 
into  regular  shapes,  planting  them  in  rows,  or  at  exact 


Sources  of  Pleasure  in  Landscape  Gardening    59 

equal   distances,    and    frequently    of  different    kinds 
in  alternate  order. 

These  first  four  heads  may  be  considered  as  generally 
adverse  to  picturesque  beauty,  yet  they  are  not,  there- 
fore, to  be  discarded.  There  are  situations  in  which  the 
ancient  style  of  gardening  is  very  properly  preserved  : 
witness  the  academic  groves  and  classic  walks  in  our 
universities;  and  I  should  doubt  the  taste  of  any  im- 
prover, who  could  despise  the  congruity,  the  utility,  the 
order,  and  the  symmetry  of  the  small  garden  at  Trinity 
College,  Oxford,  because  the  clipped  hedges  and  straight 
walks  would  not  look  well  in  a  picture. 

V.  Picturesque  Effect.  This  head,  which  has  been 
so  fully  and  ably  considered  by  Mr.  Price,  furnishes 
the  gardener  with  breadth  of  light  and  shade,  forms  of 
groups,  outline,  colouring,  balance  of  composition,  and 
occasional  advantage  from  roughness  and  decay,  the 
effect  of  time  and  age. 

VI.  Intricacy.  A  word  frequently  used  by  me  in  my 
Red  Books,  which  Mr.  Price  has  very  correctly  de- 
fined to  be  "that  disposition  of  objects,  which,  by  a  par- 
tial and  uncertain  concealment,  excites  and  nourishes 
curiosity." 

VII.  Simplicity;  or  that  disposition  of  objects  which, 
without  exposing  all  of  them  equally  to  view  at  once, 
may  lead  the  eye  to  each  by  an  easy  gradation,  without 
flutter,  confusion,  or  perplexity. 

VIII.  Variety.  This  may  be  gratified  by  natural 
landscape,  in  a  thousand  ways  that  painting  cannot 
imitate;  since  it  is  observed  of  the  best  painters'  works 
that  there  is  a  sameness  in  their  compositions,  and  even 
their  trees  are  all  of  one  general  kind,  while  the  variety 
of  nature's  productions  is  endless,  and  ought  to  be  duly 
studied. 


6o  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

IX.  Novelty.  Although  a  great  source  of  pleasure, 
this  Is  the  most  difficult  and  most  dangerous  for  an  artist 
to  attempt;  it  is  apt  to  lead  him  into  conceits  and  whims 
which  lose  their  novelty  after  the  first  surprise. 

X.  Contrast  supplies  the  place  of  novelty,  by  a  sud- 
den and  unexpected  change  of  scenery,  provided  the 
transitions  are  neither  too  frequent  nor  too  violent. 

XI.  Continuity.  This  seems  evidently  to  be  a  source 
of  pleasure,  from  the  delight  expressed  in  a  long  avenue 
and  the  disgust  at  an  abrupt  break  between  objects  that 
look  as  if  they  ought  to  be  united,  as  in  the  chasm 
betwixt  two  large  woods,  or  the  separation  betwixt  two 
pieces  of  water;  and  even  a  walk,  which  terminates 
without  affording  a  continued  line  of  communication, 
is  always  unsatisfactory. 

XII.  .Association.  This  is  one  of  the  most  impressive 
sources  of  delight,  whether  excited  by  local  accident,  as 
the  spot  on  which  some  public  character  performed  his 
part;  by  the  remains  of  antiquity,  as  the  ruin  of  a  clois- 
ter or  a  castle;  but  more  particularly  by  that  personal 
attachment  to  long-known  objects,  perhaps  indifferent 
in  themselves,  as  the  favourite  seat,  the  tree,  the  walk, 
or  the  spot  endeared  by  the  remembrance  of  past  events. 
Objects  of  this  kind,  however  trifling  in  themselves,  are 
often  preferred  to  the  most  beautiful  scenes  that  paint- 
ing can  represent  or  gardening  create.  Such  partialities 
should  be  respected  and  indulged,  since  true  taste,  which 
is  generally  attended  by  great  sensibility,  ought  to  be  the 
guardian  of  it  in  others. 

XIII.  Grandeur.  This  is  rarely  picturesque,  whether 
it  consists  in  greatness  of  dimension,  extent  of  prospect, 
or  in  splendid  and  numerous  objects  of  magnificence; 
but  it  is  a  source  of  pleasure  mixed  with  the  sublime. 
There  is,  however,  no  error  so  common  as  an  attempt 


Sources  of  Pleasure  in  Landscape  Gardening    6i 

to  substitute  extent  for  beauty  in  park  scenery,  which 
proves  the  partiality  of  the  human  mind  to  admire  what- 
ever is  vast  or  great. 

XIV.  Appropriation.  A  word  ridiculed  by  Mr.  Price 
as  lately  coined  by  me,  to  describe  extent  of  property ; 
yet  the  appearance  and  display  of  such  extent  is  a  source 
of  pleasure  not  to  be  disregarded,  since  every  individual 
who  possesses  anything,  whether  it  be  mental  endow- 
ments, or  power,  or  property,  obtains  respect  in  propor- 
tion as  his  possessions  are  known,  provided  he  does  not 
too  vainly  boast  of  them ;  and  it  is  the  sordid  miser  only 
who  enjoys  for  himself  alone,  wishing  the  world  to  be 
ignorant  of  his  wealth.  The  pleasure  of  appropriation  is 
gratified  in  viewing  a  landscape  which  cannot  be  injured 
by  the  malice  or  bad  taste  of  a  neighbouring  intruder: 
thus  an  ugly  barn,  a  ploughed  field,  or  any  obtrusive 
object  which  disgraces  the  scenery  of  a  park,  looks  as  if 
it  belonged  to  another,  and  therefore  robs  the  mind  of 
the  pleasure  derived  from  appropriation,  or  the  unity 
and  continuity  of  unmixed  property. 

XV.  Animation ;  or  that  pleasure  experienced  from 
seeing  life  and  motion,  whether  the  gliding  or  dashing 
of  water,  the  sportive  play  of  animals,  or  the  wavy 
motion  of  trees ;  and  particularly  the  playsomeness 
peculiar  to  youth,  in  the  two  last  instances,  affords 
additional  delight. 

XVI.  And  lastly,  the  seasons,  and  times  of  day, 
which  are  very  different  to  the  gardener  and  the 
painter.  The  noontide  hour  has  its  charms,  though 
the  shadows  are  neither  long  nor  broad,  and  none  but 
a  painter  or  a  sportsman  will  prefer  the  sear  and  yel- 
low leaves  of  autumn  to  the  fragrant  blossoms  and 
reviving  delights  of  spring,  "  the  youth  of  the  year." 


II 


THEORY  AND   PRACTICE  OF 
LANDSCAPE   GARDENING 


Preface 


TO 

THEORT  AND  PRACTICE 


IN  every  other  polite  art  there  are  certain  estab- 
lished rules  or  general  principles  to  which  the 
professor  may  appeal  in  support  of  his  opinions,  but 
in  landscape  gardening  every  one  delivers  his  senti- 
ments or  displays  his  taste  as  whim  or  caprice  may 
dictate,  without  having  studied  the  subject,  or  even 
thought  it  capable  of  being  reduced  to  any  fixed  rules. 
Hence  it  has  been  doubted  whether  each  proprietor 
of  his  own  estate  may  not  be  the  most  proper  person 
to  plan  its  improvement. 

Had  the  art  still  continued  under  the  direction  of 
working  gardeners,  or  nurserymen,  the  proprietor 
might  supersede  the  necessity  of  such  landscape  gar- 
deners, provided  he  had  previously  made  this  art  his 
study ;  but  not  (as  it  is  frequently  asserted)  because 
the  gentleman  who  constantly  resides  at  his  place  must 
be  a  much  better  judge  of  the  means  of  improving  it 
than  the  professor  whose  visits  are  only  occasional : 
for  if  this  reason  for  a  preference  were  granted,  we 
might  with  equal  truth  assert  that  the  constant  com- 
panion of  a  sick  man  has  an  advantage  over  his  phy- 
sician. 

Improvements  may  be  suggested  by  any  one,  but 
the  professor  only  acquires  a  knowledge  of  effects 
before  they  are  produced,  and  a  facility  in  producing 
them  by  various  methods,  expedients,  and  resources. 


66  Preface 


the  result  of  study,  observation,  and  experience.  He 
knows  what  can  and  what  cannot  be  accomphshed 
within  certain  limits.  He  ought  to  know  what  to  adopt 
and  what  to  reject ;  he  must  endeavour  to  accommo- 
date his  plans  to  the  wishes  of  the  person  who  consults 
him,  although,  in  some  cases,  they  may  not  strictly 
accord  with  his  own  taste. '^ 

Goo^  sense  may  exist  without  good  taste^^  yet,  from 
their  intimate  connexion,  many  persons  are  as  much 
offended  at  having  their  taste  as  their  understanding 
disputed;  hence,  the  most  ignorant  being  generally 
the  most  obstinate,  I  have  occasionally  found  that,  as 
"  a  little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing,"  a  little  taste  is 
a  troublesome  one. 

Both  taste  and  understanding  require  cultivation  and 
improvement.  Natural  taste,  like  natural  genius,  may 
exist  to  a  certain  degree,  but  without  study,  observa- 
tion, and  experience,  they  lead  to  error.  There  is,  per- 
haps, no  circumstance  which  so  strongly  marks  the 
decline  of  public  taste  as  the  extravagant  applause 
bestowed  on  early  efforts  of  unlettered  and  unculti- 
vated genius.  Extraordinary  instances  of  prematurity 
deserve  to  be  patronised,  fostered,  and  encouraged, 
provided  they  excite  admiration  from  excellence,  inde- 
pendent of  peculiar  circumstances ;  but  the  public 
taste  is  endangered  by  the  circulation  of  such  crude 
productions  as  are  curious  only  from  the  youth  or 
ignorance  of  their  authors.  Such  an  apology  to  the 
learned  will  not  compensate  for  the  defects  of  grammar 
in  poetry,  nor  to  the  scientific  artist  for  the  defects  of 
proportion  and  design  in  architecture  ;  while  the  incor- 
rectness of  such  efforts  is  hardly  visible  to  the  bulk  of 
mankind,  incapable  of  comparing  their  excellence  with 
works  of  established  reputation.    Thus  in  poetry,  in 


Preface  67 


painting,  and  in  architecture,  false  taste  is  propagated 
by  the  sanction  given  to  mediocrity. 

Its  dangerous  tendency,  added  to  its  frequency,  must 
plead  my  excuse  for  taking  notice  of  the  following  vul- 
gar mode  of  expression :  "  I  do  not  profess  to  under- 
stand these  matters,  but  I  know  what  pleases  me." 
This  may  be  the  standard  of  perfection  with  those  who 
are  content  to  gratify  their  own  taste  without  inquiring 
how  it  may  affect  others ;  but  the  man  of  good  taste 
endeavours  to  investigate  the  causes  of  the  pleasure  he 
receives,  and  to  inquire  whether  others  receive  pleasure 
also.  He  knows  that  the  same  principles  which  direct 
taste  in  the  polite  arts  direct  the  judgement  in  morality; 
in  short,  that  a  knowledge  of  what  is  good,  what  is  bad, 
and  what  is  indifferent,  whether  in  actions,  in  mariners, 
in  language,  in  arts,  or  science,  constitutes  the  basis  of 
good  taste  and  marks  the  distinction  between  the  higher 
ranks  of  polished  society  and  the  inferior  orders  of 
mankind,  whose  daily  labours  allow  no  leisure  for  other 
enjoyments  than  those  of  mere  sensual,  individual,  and 
personal  gratification. 

Those  who  delight  in  depreciating  the  present  by 
comparisons  with  former  times  may,  perhaps,  observe 
a  decline  of  taste  in  many  of  the  polite  arts ;  but  surely 
in  architecture  and  gardening,  the  present  era  furnishes 
more  examples  of  attention  to  comfort  and  conven- 
ience than  are  to  be  found  in  the  plans  of  Palladio, 
Vitruvius,  or  Le  Notre,  who,  in  the  display  of  useless 
symmetry,  often  forgot  the  requisites  of  habitation.  The 
leading  feature  in  the  good  taste  of  modern  times  is 
the  just  sense  of  general  utility. 

A  few  observations  are  subjoined  to  mark  those 
errors,  or  absurdities  in  modern  gardening  and  archi- 
tecture, to  which  I  have  never  willingly  subscribed,  and 


68  Preface 


from  which  it  will  easily  be  ascertained  how  much  of 
what  is  called  the  improvement  of  any  place  in  the  list/^ 
may  properly  be  attributed  to  my  advice.  It  is  rather 
upon  my  opinions  in  writing  than  on  the  partial  and 
imperfect  manner  in  which  my  plans  have  sometimes 
been  executed  that  I  wish  my  fame  to  be  established. 

1 .  There  is  no  error  more  prevalent  in  modern  garden- 
ing, or  more  frequently  carried  to  excess,  than  taking 
away  hedges  to  unite  many  small  fields  into  one  extens- 
ive and  naked  lawn,  before  plantations  are  made  to 
give  it  the  appearance  of  a  park ;  and  where  ground  is 
subdivided  by  sunk  fences,  imaginary  freedom  is  dearly 
purchased  at  the  expense  of  actual  confinement. 

2.  The' baldness  and  nakedness  round  the  house  is 
part  of  the  same  mistaken  system,  of  concealing  fences 
to  gain  extent.  A  palace,  or  even  an  elegant  villa,  in 
a  grass-field,  appears  to  me  incongruous  ;  yet  I  have 
seldom  had  sufficient  influence  to  correct  this  common 
error. 

3.  An  approach  which  does  not  evidently  lead  to  the 
house,  or  which  does  not  take  the  shortest  course,  cannot 
be  right.  This  rule  must  be  taken  with  certain  limitations. 
The  shortest  road  across  a  lawn  to  a  house  will  seldom 
be  found  graceful,  and  often  vulgar.  A  road  bordered 
by  trees  in  the  form  of  an  avenue  may  be  straight  with- 
out being  vulgar;  and  grandeur,  not  grace  or  elegance, 
is  the  expression  expected  to  be  produced. 

4.  A  poor  man's  cottage,  divided  into  what  is  called 
a  pair  of  lodges^  is  a  mistaken  expedient  to  mark  import- 
ance in  the  entrance  to  a  park. 

5.  The  entrance-gate  should  not  be  visible  from  the 
mansion,  unless  it  opens  into  a  courtyard. 

6.  The  plantation  surrounding  a  place,  called  a  belt^ 
I  have  never  advised;  nor  have  I  ever  willingly  marked 


Preface  69 


a  drive,  or  walk,  completely  round  the  verge  of  a  park, 
except  in  small  villas,  where  a  dry  path  round  a  person's 
own  field  is  always  moreinteresting  to  him  than  any  other 
walk. 

7.  Small  plantations  of  trees,  surrounded  by  a  fence, 
are  the  best  expedients  to  form  groups,  because  trees 
planted  singly  seldom  grow  well ;  neglect  of  thinning 
and  removing  the  fence  has  produced  that  ugly  deform- 
ity called  a  clump. 

8.  Water  on  an  eminence,  or  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  is 
among  the  most  common  errors  of  Mr.  Brown's  fol- 
lowers :  in  numerous  instances  I  have  been  allowed  to 
remove  such  pieces  of  water  from  the  hills  to  the  val- 
leys, but  in  many  my  advice  has  not  prevailed. 

9.  Deception  may  be  allowable  in  imitating  the  works 
of  nature.  Thus  artificial  rivers,  lakes,  and  rock  scenery 
can  only  be  great  by  deception,  and  the  mind  acquiesces 
in  the  fraud  after  it  is  detected ;  but  in  works  of  art  every 
trick  ought  to  be  avoided.  Sham  churches,  sham  ruins, 
sham  bridges,  and  everything  which  appears  what  it  is 
not,  disgusts  when  the  trick  is  discovered. 

10.  In  buildings  of  every  kind  the  character  should 
be  strictly  observed.  No  incongruous  mixture  can  be 
justified.  To  add  Grecian  to  Gothic,  or  Gothic  to 
Grecian,  is  equally  absurd;  and  a  sharp-pointed  arch 
to  a  garden-gate  or  a  dairy-window,  however  frequently 
it  occurs,  is  not  less  oflfensive  than  Grecian  architecture 
in  which  the  standard  rules  of  relative  proportion  are 
neglected  or  violated. 

11.  The  perfection  of  landscape  gardening  consists 
in  the  fullest  attention  to  these  principles, —  Utility y 
Proportion,  and  Unityy  or  harmony  of  parts  to  the 
whole. 


Chapter  I 


Introduction  —  General  Principles  —  Utility 
Scale — Examples  of  Comparative  Proportion 
Use  of  Perspective 


THE  theory  and  practice  of  landscape  gardening 
have  seldom  fallen  under  the  consideration  of  the 
same  author ;  because  those  who  have  delivered  their 
opinions  in  writing  on  this  art  have  had  little  practical 
experience,  and  few  of  its  professors  have  been  able  to 
deduce  their  rules  from  theoretical  principles.  To  such 
persons  indeed  had  its  practice  been  committed  that 
it  required  no  common  degree  of  fortitude  and  perse- 
verance to  elevate  the  art  of  landscape  gardening  to  its 
proper  rank  and  amongst  those  which  distinguish  the 
pleasures  of  civilised  society  from  the  pursuits  of  savage 
and  barbarous"  nations. 

Not  deterred  by  the  sneer  of  ignorance.,  the  contra- 
diction of  obstinacy,  the  nonsense  of  vanity,  or  the 
prevalence  of  false  taste,  I  made  the  attempt;  and  with 
the  counsels  and  advice  of  men  of  science,  and  the 
countenance  of  some  of  the  first  characters  in  the 
kingdom,  a  very  large  portion  of  its  scenery  has  been 
committed  to  my  care  for  improvement.  Hence  it 
might  be  expected  that,  with  some  degree  of  confidence, 
I  now  should  deliver  the  result  of  my  observations ; 
yet,  from  the  difficulties  continually  increasing  with  my 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  I  submit  this  work  to  the 
public  with  far  more  diffidence  than  I  did  my  former 


72  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

volume  :  because  in  this,  as  in  every  other  study,  reflec- 
tion and  observation  on  those  things  which  we  do 
know  teach  us  to  regret  our  circumscribed  knowledge, 
and  the  difficulty  of  reducing  to  fixed  principles  the 
boundless  variety  of  the  works  of  nature. 

If  any  general  principles  could  be  established  in  this 
art,  I  think  that  they  might  be  deduced  from  the  joint 
consideration  of  relative  fitness  or  utility  and  compara- 
tive proportion  or  scale;  the  former  may  be  referred  to 
the  mind,  the  latter  to  the  eye,  yet  these  two  must  be 
inseparable. 

Under  relative  fitness  I  include  the  comfort,  the 
convenience,  the  character,  and  every  circumstance  of 
a  place  that  renders  it  the  desirable  habitation  of  man 
and  adapts  it  to  the  uses  of  each  individual  proprietor  ; 
for  it  has  occasionally  happened  to  me  to  have  been 
consulted  on  the  same  subject  by  two  diff^erent  propri- 
etors, when  my  advice  has  been  materially  varied,  to 
accord  with  the  respective  circumstances  or  intentions 
of  each. 

The  second  is  that  leading  principle  which  depends 
on  sight,  and  which  I  call  comparative  proportion ;  be- 
cause all  objects  appear  great  or  small  by  comparison 
only,  or  as  they  have  a  reference  to  other  objects  with 
which  they  are  liable  to  be  compared. 

At  Holkham,  about  twenty  years  ago,  the  lofty 
obelisk  seen  from  the  portico  appeared  to  be  sur- 
rounded by  shrubbery,  but  on  a  nearer  approach  I 
found  that  these  apparent  shrubs  were  really  large 
trees,  and  only  depressed  by  the  greater  height  of  the 
obelisk.  A  similar  instance  occurs  at  Welbeck ;  the 
large  grove  of  oaks,  seen  from  the  house  across 
the  water,  consists  of  trees  most  remarkable  for  their 
straight   and    lofty    stems ;   yet,   to    a  stranger,  their 


Theory  and  Practice  73 

magnitude  is  apparently  lessened  by  an  enormous  large 
and  flourishing  ash,  which  rises  like  a  single  tree  out 
of  a  bank  of  brushwood.  When  I  was  first  consulted 
respecting  Wentworth  House,  the  lawn  behind  it  ap- 
peared circumscribed,  and  the  large  trees  which  sur- 
rounded that  lawn  appeared  depressed  by  four  tall 
obelisks  :  these  have  since  been  removed,  the  stately 
trees  have  assumed  their  true  magnitude,  and  the  effect 
of  confinement  is  done  away. 

I  have  illustrated  these  observations  by  the  example 
of  an  obelisk  [Fig.  4],  because  its  height  being  inde- 


Fig.  4.    Diagram  to  shew  the  use  of  the  human  figure  as  a  scale  ;cr  measuring 
objects. 

terminate,  it  may  mislead  the  eye  as  a  scale;  since, 
according  to  its  size  and  situation,  the  very  same  design 
may  serve  for  a  lamp-post,  a  milestone  in  the  market- 
place of  a  city,  an  ornament  to  a  public  square,  or  it 
may  be  raised  on  the  summit  of  a  hill,  a  monument 
to  a  nation's  glory. 


74 


The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardei 


The  necessity  of  observing  scale  or  comparative 
proportion  may  be  further  elucidated  by  a  reference 
to  West  Wycombe,  a  place  generally  known,  from  its 
vicinity  to  the  road  to  Oxford.  Amongst  the  profusion 
of  buildings  and  ornament  which  the  false  taste  of  the 
last  age  lavished  upon  this  spot,  many  were  correct  in 
design,  and,  considered  separately,  in  proportion  ;  but 
even  many  of  the  designs,  although  perfect  in  them- 
selves, were  rendered  absurd  from  inattention  either  to 
the  scale  or  situation  of  the  surrounding  objects.  The 
summit  of  a  hill  is  covered  by  a  large  mass  of  Grecian 
architecture,  out  of  which  apparently  rises  a  small 
square  projection,  with  a  ball  at  the  top,  not  unlike  the 
kind  of  cupolas  misplaced  over  stables;'^  but  in  reality 
this  building  is  the  tower  of  a  church,  and  the  ball  a 
room  sufficiently  large  to  contain  eight  or  ten  people. 

This  comparative  proportion,  or,  in  other  words,  this 
attention  to  scale  or  measiirement,  is  not  only  necessary 
with  regard  to  objects  near  each  other,  but  it  forms  the 
basis  of  all  improvement  depending  on  perspective,  by 
the  laws  of  which  it  is  well  known  that  objects  diminish 
in  apparent  size  in  proportion  to  their  distance:  yet  the 
application  of  this  principle  may  not,  perhaps,  have 
been  so  universally  considered.  I  shall,  therefore,  men- 
tion a  few  instances  in  which  I  have  availed  myself  of 
its  effects. 

At  Hurlingham,  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames,  the 
lawn  in  front  of  the  house  was  necessarily  contracted  by 
the  vicinity  of  the  river,  yet  being  too  large  to  be  kept 
under  the  scythe  and  roller,  and  too  small  to  be  fed 
by  a  flock  of  sheep,  I  recommended  the  introduction 
of  Alderney  cows  only.  The  effect  is  that  of  giving 
imaginary  extent  to  the  place,  which  is  thus  measured 
below  a  true  standard,  because  if  distance  will  make 


Theory  and  Practice  75 

a  large  animal  appear  small,  so  the  distance  will  be 
apparently  extended  by  the  smallness  of  the  animal. 

The  same  reasoning  induced  me  to  prefer,  at  Stoke 
Pogies,  a  bridge  of  more  arches  than  one  over  a  rive*- 
which  is  the  work  of  art,  whilst  in  natural  rivers  a  single" 
arch  is  often  preferable,  because  in  the  latter  we  wish  t.  • 
increase  the  magnitude  of  the  bridge,  whilst  in  the  former 
we  endeavour  to  give  importance  to  the  artificial  river. 

Another  instance  of  the  necessity  of  attending  to 
comparative  scale  occurred  near  the  metropolis,  where 
a  gentleman  wished  to  purchase  a  distant  field  for  the 
purpose  of  planting  out  a  tile-kiln,  but  1  convinced  him 
that  during  the  life  of  man  the  nuisance  could  never  be 
hid  from  his  windows  by  planting  near  the  kiln,  whilst 
a  few  trees,  judiciously  placed  within  his  own  ground, 
would  effect  the  purpose  the  year  after  they  were  planted. 

The  art  of  landscape  gardening  is  in  no  instance 
more  intimately  connected  with  that  of  painting  than  in 
whatever  relates  to  perspective,  or  the  difference  between 
the  real  and  apparent  magnitude  of  the  objects,  arising 
from  their  relative  situations;  for  without  some  atten- 
tion to  perspective,  both  the  dimensions  and  the  dis- 
tances of  objects  will  be  changed  and  confounded.  Few 
instances  having  occurred  to  me  where  this  can  be  more 
forcibly  elucidated  than  in  the  ground  at  the  fort  near 
Bristol,  I  shall  avail  myself  of  the  following  observa- 
tions to  shew  what  can  and  what  cannot  be  done  by 
a  judicious  application  of  the  laws  of  perspective. 

When  I  first  visited  the  fort,  I  found  it  surrounded 
by  vast  chasms  in  the  ground,  and  immense  heaps  of 
earth  and  broken  rock:  these  had  been  made  to  form 
the  cellars  and  foundations  to  certain  additions  to  the 
city  of  Bristol,  which  were  afterwards  relinquished.  The 
first  idea  that  presented  itself  was  to  restore  the  ground 


76  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

to  its  original  shape;  but  a  little  reflection  on  the  char- 
acter and  situation  of  the  place  naturally  led  me  to 
inquire  whether  some  considerable  advantage  might  not 
be  derived  from  the  mischief  which  had  thus  been 
already  done. 

Few  situations  command  so  varied,  so  rich,  and  so 
extensive  a  view  as  the  fort.  Situated  on  the  summit 
of  a  hill  which  looks  over  the  vast  city  of  Bristol,  it 
formerly  surveyed  the  river  and  the  beautiful  country 
surrounding  it  without  being  incommoded  by  too  much 
view  of  the  city  itself;  but  the  late  prodigious  increase 
of  buildings  had  so  injured  the  prospect  of  this  house 


that  its  original  advantages  of  situation  were  almost  de- 
stroyed, and  there  was  some  reason  to  doubt  whether 
it  could  ever  be  made  desirable  either  as  a  villa  or  as 
a  country  residence,  because  it  was  not  only  exposed  to 
the  unsightly  rows  of  houses  in  Park  Street  and  Berke- 
ley Square,  but  it  was  liable  to  be  overlooked  by  the 
numerous  crowds  of  people  who  claimed  a  right  of  foot- 
path through  the  park  immediately  before  the  windows. 
It  was,  therefore,  as  public  as  any  house  in  any  square 
or  street  of  Bristol.  If  the  earth  had  been  simply  put 
back  to  the  places  from  whence  it  had  been  taken,  the 
expense  of  its  removal  would  have  been  greater  than  the 
method  which  occurred  to  me  as  more  advisable;  viz. 
to  fill  up  the  chasms  partly,  by  levelling  the  sides  into 
them,  and  raising  a  bank  with  a  wall  to  exclude  the  foot- 
path, as  shewn  in  the  accompanying  section  [Fig.  5], 


Theory  and  Practice 


77 


where  the  dotted  Hne  shews  the  original  shape  of  the 
ground;  the  zigzag  Hne,  holes  from  fifteen  to  twenty- 
feet  deep;  the  shaded  line,  the  shape  of  the  ground 
as  altered. 

By  this  expedient  we  hide  the  objectionable  part  of 
the  view,  and  by  planting  the  raised  heap  of  earth  we 
produce  a  degree  of  privacy  and  seclusion  in  this  newly 
created  valley  within  the  pleasure-grounds  which  was 
never  before  known  or  expected  in  this  open  situation. 
The  pleasure-ground,  immediately  near  the  house,  is 
separated  from  the  park  by  a  wall,  against  which  the 
earth  is  everywhere  laid  as  before  described,  so  as  to 
carry  the  eye  over  the  heads  of  persons  who  may  be 
walking  in  the  adjoining  footpath.  This  wall  not  only 
hides  them  from  the  house,  but  also  prevents  their  over- 
looking the  pleasure-ground.  Yet,  notwithstanding  this 
great  utility,  this  absolute  necessity,  the  appearance  of 
such  a  wall,  from  the  park,  gives  an  air  of  confinement, 
and  the  only  expedient  by  which  this  might  be  well 
remedied  would  be  a  total  change  in  the  character  of 
the  place,  or,  rather,  by  altering  the  house  to  make  it 
what  its  name  and  situation  denote:  for  if  the  fort  were 
restored  to  its  original  character  of  a  castle  or  fortress, 
this  wall,  instead  of  being  objectionable,  would  then 
act  as  a  terrace,  and  contribute  to  the  general  effect  of 
extent  and  the  magnificence  of  the  whole. 

Although,  from  the  nature  of  this  work,  it  is  difiicult 
to  preserve  any  connecting  series  of  arrangement,  yet 
it  may  not  be  improper,  in  this  place,  to  mention  a  few 
remarkable  instances  of  removing  earth  and  altering 
the  shape  of  the  surface  of  ground,  especially  as  there 
is  no  part  of  my  profession  attended  with  so  much 
expense,  or  more  frequently  objected  to,  because  so 
often  mismanaged. 


yS  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

Where  a  ridge  of  ground  very  near  the  eye  inter- 
cepts the  view  of  a  valley  below,  it  is  wonderful  how 
great  an  effect  may  be  produced  by  a  very  trifling 
removal  of  the  ridge  only  ;  thus,  at  Moccas  Court,  a 
very  small  quantity  of  earth  concealed  from  the  house 
the  view  of  that  beautiful  reach  of  the  River  Wye, 
which  has  since  been  opened.  At  Oldbury  Court  the 
view  is  opened  into  a  romantic  glen  by  the  same  kind 
of  operation.  At  Catchfrench  the  same  thing  is  advised, 
to  shew  the  opposite  hills;  and  in  this  instance  it  may 
appear  surprising  that  the  removal  of  a  few  yards  of 
earth  was  sufficient  to  display  a  vast  extent  of  distant 
prospect. 

But  this  effect  must  depend  on  the  natural  shape  of 
the  surface  near  the  eye  ;  for  example,  if  the  shape  be 
that  of  the  upper  line  a  [Fig.  6],  the  object  at  f  can- 


Fig.  6. 

not  be  seen  without  the  removal  of  all  the  earth 
between  the  dotted  line  and  the  surface,  but  if  the 
shape  be  that  of  b,  the  removal  of  the  part  not  shaded 
will  not  be  sufficient  to*^shew  the  valley;  and  it  is  not 
always  desirable  to  see  the  whole  surface ;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  is  better  that  a  part  should  be  concealed  than 
that  the  whole  should  be  shewn  foreshortened,  which  is 
always  the  case  in  looking  down  or  up  an  inclined 
plane. 

The  most  arduous  operations  of  removing  ground 
are  generally  those  where  the  geometric  taste  of  garden- 


Theory  and  Practice  79 

ing  had  distorted  the  natural  surface,  and  where  it 
would  now  be  attended  with  much  greater  trouble  and 
expense  to  restore  the  ground  to  its  original  shape 
than  had  been  formerly  dedicated  to  make  those  slopes 
and  regular  forms,  which  are  more  like  the  works  of 
a  military  engineer  than  of  a  painter  or  a  gardener. 

Few  instances  have  occurred  to  me  where  great 
expense  in  moving  ground  was  requisite  to  produce 
pleasing  effects,  and  it  is  always  with  reluctance  that  I 
advise  much  alteration  in  the  surface  of  ground,  because, 
however  great  the  labour  or  expensive  the  process,  it 
is  a  part  of  the  art  from  which  the  professor  can  derive 
but  little  credit,  since  his  greatest  praise  must  be  that 
the  ground  looks,  when  finished,  as  if  art  had  never 
interfered. 

When  I  was  first  consulted,  at  Sundridge  Park,  by 
Mr.  Lind,  the  former  possessor,  the  house,  which  has 
since  been  pulled  down,  stood  on  the  south  side  of  the 
valley ;  and  those  who  knew  the  spot  despaired  of 
finding  a  situation  for  a  house  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  valley,  that  the  rooms  might  have  a  southern 
aspect,  as  the  bank  was  too  steep  to  admit  of  any 
building.  My  much  respected  friend,  the  present  pos- 
sessor, was  aware  of  this  circumstance,  and  by  art  we 
have  produced  a  situation  which  nature  denied.  The 
earth  was  lowered  thirty  feet  perpendicularly,  at  the 
spot  on  which  the  house  was  built,  and  so  disposed  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill  that  no  trace  of  artificial  manage- 
ment is  now  to  be  discovered. 

Among  the  greatest  examples  of  removing  ground 
may  be  mentioned  the  work  going  on  at  Bulstrode, 
under  the  direction  of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Portland 
himself;  whose  good  taste  will  not  suffer  any  part  of 
that  beautiful  park  to  be  disguised  by  the  misjudging 


8o  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

taste  of  former  times,  and  who,  by  opening  the  valleys 
and  taking  away  a  great  depth  of  earth  from  the  stems 
of  the  largest  trees,  which  had  been  formerly  buried, 
is,  by  degrees,  restoring  the  surface  of  the  ground  to 
its  original  and  natural  shape. 

As  connected  with  the  subject  of  moving  ground, 
I  shall  extract  from  my  Red  Book  of  Wentworth  the 
following  observations  concerning  the  great  work  at 
that  place  which  had  so  long  been  carrying  on  under 
the  direction  of  the  late  Marquis  of  Rockingham. 

Of  the  view  from  the  portico  at  Wentworth  House 
[Figs.  7  and  8],  my  opinion  is  so  contrary  to  that  of 


Fig.  7.    View  from  W'entworth  House,   before   it  was  improved,   and   while  the  im- 
provements were  going  forward. 

many  others  who  have  advised  a  farther  removal  of 
the  hill  that  I  hope  it  will  not  be  improper  to  state 
very  fully  the  reasons  on  which  1  ground  this  opinion, 
viz.  that  so  far  from  such  an  operation  being  equi- 
valent to  the  trouble  by  which  it  must  be  executed, 
I  would  not  advise  its  removal,  if  it  could  be  much 
more  easily  effected,  because  — 

1.  The  outline  of  the  horizon  beyond  this  hill  is 
almost  a  straight  line,  and  would  be  very  offensive 
when  shewn  over  another  straight  line  parallel  to  it. 

2.  The  view  of  the  valley  beyond,  however  rich  in 
itself,   is   too   motley   to   form   a   part   of  the   proper 


Theory  and  Practice  8i 

landscape  from  such  a  palace  as  Wentworth  House, 
although,  from  many  situations  in  the  park,  it  is  a  very 
interesting  feature. 

3.  The  vast  plain,  which  has  with  so  much  difficulty 
been  obtained  in  front  of  the  house,  is  exactly  propor- 
tionate to  the  extent  of  the  edifice,  and  tends  to  impress 
the  ideas  of  magnificence  which  so  great  a  work  of  art 
is  calculated  to  inspire.  Such  a  plain  forms  an  ample 
base  for  the  noble  structure  which  graces  its  extremity; 
the  building  and  the  plain  are  evidently  made  for  each 
other,  and,  consequently,  to  increase  the  dimensions  of 
either  seems  unnecessary. 

The  foregoing  reasons  relate  to  the  hill  as  considered 
from  the  house  only  ;  I  shall  now  consider  it  in  other 
points  of  view. 

Wentworth  Park  consists  of  parts,  in  themselves 
truly  great  and  magnificent.  The  woods,  the  lawns, 
the  water,  and  the  buildings  are  all  separately  striking; 
but,  considered  as  a  whole,  there  is  a  want  of  connex- 
ion and  harmony  in  the  composition,  because  parts,  in 
themselves  large,  if  disjoined,  lose  their  importance. 
This,  I  am  convinced,  is  the  effect  of  too  great  an 
expanse  of  unclothed  lawn,  but  when  the  young  trees 
shall  have  thrown  a  mantle  over  this  extensive  knoll, 
all  the  distant  parts  will  assume  one  general  harmony, 
and  the  scattered  masses  of  this  splendid  scenery  will 
be  connected  and  brought  together  into  one  vast  and 
magnificent  whole. 

The  use  of  a  plantation  on  this  hill,  in  the  approach 
from  Rotherham,  is  evident,  from  the  effect  of  a  small 
clump  which  will  form  a  part  of  this  great  mass,  and 
which  now  hides  the  house,  till,  by  the  judicious  bend 
round  that  angle,  the  whole  building  bursts  at  once 
upon  the  view. 


82  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

It  can  readily  be  conceived  that  before  the  old 
stables  were  removed  there  might  appear  some  reason 
for  not  planting  this  hill ;  not  because  it  was  too  near 
the  front,  but  because  the  view,  thus  bounded  by  a 
wood  on  one  side,  and  the  large  pile  of  old  stables  on 
the  other,  would  be  too  confined.  That  objection  is 
removed  with  the  stables,  and  now  a  wood  on  this  hill 
will  form  a  foreground,  and  lead  the  eye  to  each  of 
those  scenes,  which  are  too  wide  apart  ever  to  be  con- 
sidered as  one  landscape.  In  the  adjoining  sketch  [Fig. 
8]  I  have  endeavoured  to  shew  the  effect  of  planting 


Fig.  8.    view  from  Wentworth   House,  shewing  the  effect  intended  to  be  produced 
by  the  proposed  alterations. 

this  hill,  leaving  part  of  the  rock  to  break  out  among 
the  trees.  In  a  line  of  such  extent,  and  where  the  angle 
nearest  the  house  will  be  rather  acute,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  hide  part  and  to  soften  off  the  corner  of  the 
plantation  by  a  few  scattered  single  trees,  in  the  manner 
I  have  attempted  to  represent. 

Among  the  future  uses  of  the  hill  plantation,  it  may 
be  mentioned  that  the  shape  which  the  ground  most 
naturally  seems  to  direct,  for  the  outline  of  this  wood, 
is  such  as  will  hereafter  give  opportunity  to  form  the 
most  interesting  walk  that  imagination  can  suggest ; 
because,  from  a  large  crescent  of  wood,  on  a  knoll,  the 


Theory  and  Practice  83 

views  must  be  continually  varying;  while,  by  a  judi- 
cious management  of  the  small  openings,  and  the  pro- 
per direction  of  the  walks,  the  scenery  in  the  park  will 
be  shewn  under  different  circumstances  of  foreground, 
with  increased  beauty. 


Chapter  II 


Ground  apparently  altered  by  the  Situation  of  the 
Spectator — Kejlections  from  the  Surface  of  Water 
explained  and  applied — Different  Effects  of  Light 
on  Different  Objects 


THE  field  of  vision,  or  the  portion  of  landscape 
which  the  eye  will  comprehend,  is  a  circumstance 
frequently  mistaken  in  fixing  the  situation  for  a  house; 
since  a  view  seen  from  the  windows  of  an  apartment  will 
materially  differ  from  the  same  view  seen  in  the  open  air. 
In  one  case,  without  moving  the  head,  we  see  from  sixty 
to  ninety  degrees,  or,  by  a  single  motion  of  the  head, 
without  moving  the  body,  we  may  see  every  object  within 
one  hundred  and  eighty  degrees  of  vision.  In  the  other 
case  the  portion  of  landscape  will  be  much  less,  and 
must  depend  on  the  size  of  the  window,  the  thickness 
of  the  walls,  and  the  distance  of  the  spectator  from  the 
aperture.  Hence  it  arises  that  persons  are  frequently 
disappointed,  after  building  a  house,  to  find  that  those 
objects  which  they  expected  would  form  the  leading 
features  of  their  landscape  are  scarcely  seen,  except 
from  such  a  situation  in  the  room  as  may  be  incon- 
venient to  the  spectator;  or,  otherwise,  the  object  is 
shewn  in  an  oblique  and  unfavourable  point  of  view. 
This  will  be  more  clearly  explained  by  the  following 
diagram  [Fig.  9]. 

It  is  evident  that  a  spectator  at  a  can  only  see,  through 
an  aperture  of  four  feet,  those  objects  which  fall  within 


Theory  and  Practice 


85 


the  opening  b  c,  in  one  direction,  and  d  e  in  the  other, 
neither  comprehending  more  than  twenty  or  thirty  de- 
grees. But  if  he  removes  to  a  near  the  windows,  he  will 
then  see  all  the  objects,  within  the  angle  f  g,  in  one 
direction,  or  h  i  in  the  other;  yet  it  is  obvious  that, even 
from  these  spots,  that  part  of  the  landscape  which  lies 


Itv 


jf) 'W- 


E. A 


betwixt  the  extreme  lines  of  vision  f  and  h  will  be  invis- 
ible, or  at  least  seen  with  difficulty,  by  placing  the  eye 
much  nearer  to  the  window  than  is  always  convenient. 
From  hence  it  follows  that,  to  obtain  so  much  of  a 
view  as  may  be  expected, '^  it  is  not  sufficient  to  have 
a  cross-light,  or  windows,  in  two  sides  of  the  room,  at 
right  angles  with  each  other,  but  there  must  be  one  in 
an  oblique  direction,  which  can  only  be  obtained  by  a 
bow-window:  and  although  there  may  be  some  advant- 
age in  making  the  different  views  from  a  house  distinct 
landscapes,  yet  as  the  villa  requires  a  more  extensive 
prospect  than  a  constant  residence,  so  the  bow-window 
is  peculiarly  applicable  to  the  villa.  I  must  acknow- 
ledge that  its  external  appearance  is  not  always  orna- 
mental, especially  as  it  is  often  forced  upon  obscure 
buildings,  where  no  view  is  presented,  near  great  towns, 


86  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

and  oftener  is  placed  like  an  uncouth  excrescence  upon 
the  bleak  and  exposed  lodging-houses  at  a  watering- 
place  ;  but  in  the  large  projecting  windows  of  old  Gothic 
mansions, beauty  and  grandeur  may  be  united  to  utility. 

The  apparent  shape  of  the  ground  will  be  altered 
by  the  situation  of  the  spectator.  This  is  a  subject  of 
much  importance  to  the  landscape  gardener,  although 
not  generally  studied. 

In  hilly  countries,  where  the  banks  are  bold,  a  road 
in  a  valley  is  always  pleasing,  because  it  seems  natural, 
and  carries  with  it  the  idea  of  ease  and  safety  ;  but  in 
a  country  that  is  not  hilly,  we  ought  rather  to  shew  the 
little  *°  inequalities  of  ground  to  advantage.  The  differ- 
ence betwixt  viewing  ground  from  the  bottom  of  a  val- 
ley or  the  side  of  a  hill  will  be  best  explained  by  the 
following  diagram  [Fig.  lo],  where  the  rules  of  per- 
spective again  assist  the  scientific  improver. 

The  spectator  at  a,  in  looking  up  the  hill  towards  c, 
will  lose  all  the  ground  that  is  foreshortened ;  and  every 
object  which  rises  higher  than  five  feet  (/.  e.  the  height 
of  his  eye),  will  present  itself  above  his  horizon  if  the 
slope  is  exactly  an  inclined  plane  or  hanging  level ; 
but  as  the  shape  of  ground  here  delineated  more  fre- 
quently occurs,  he  will  actually  see  the  sky,  and  conse- 
quently the  utmost  pitch  of  the  hill  beneath  the  body 
of  the  animal  placed  at  b  and  part  of  the  thorn  at  c 
become  invisible. 

This  accounts  for  the  highest  mountains  losing  their 
importance  when  seen  only  from  the  base;  while,  on 
the  contrary,  a  plain  or  level  surface  (for  instance  the 
sea)  appears  to  rise  considerably  when  viewed  from  an 
eminence.  Let  us  suppose  another  spectator  to  be  placed 
at  D ;  it  is  evident  that  this  person  will  see  no  ground 


Theory  and  Practice 


87 


foreshortened  but  that  below  him,  while  the  opposite 
hill  will  appear  to  him  far  above  the  head  of  the  man 
at  A,  and  above  the  cow  at  b.  In  the  section,  the  dotted 
lines  are  the  respective  horizons  of  the  two  spectators. 


tig.  10. 


and  the  sketches  shew  the  landscape  seen  by  each,  in 
which  the  forked  tree  may  serve  as  a  scale  to  measure 
the  height  of  each  horizon. 


The  reflections  of  objects  in  water  are  no  less  depend- 
ent on  the  laws  of  perspective,  or  of  vision,  than  the 
instances  already  enumerated. 

If  the  water  be  raised  to  the  level  of  the  ground 
beyond  it,  we  lose  all  advantage  of  reflection  from  the 
distant  ground  or  trees  :  this  is  the  case  with  pieces  of 
water  near  the  house  in  many  places,  for  all  ponds  on 
high  ground  present  a  constant  glare  of  light  from  the 
sky  ;  but  the  trees  beyond  can  never  be  reflected  on  the 
surface,  because  the  angle  of  incidence  and  the  angle  of 
reflection  are  always  equal,  and  the  surface  of  the  water 
will  always  be  a  perfect  horizontal  plane.  This  I  shall 
farther  explain  by  the  following  lines  [Fig.  11]. 

The  spectator  at  a,  in  looking  ^on  the  upper  water, 
will  see  only  sky,  because  the  angle  of  incident,  b,  and 
that  of  reflection,  c,  being  equal,  the  latter  passes  over 
the  top  of  the  trees,  d,  on  lower  ground:  but  the  same 


88  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

spectator,  a,  in  looking  on  the  lower  water,  will  see  the 
trees,  e,  reflected  on  its  surface,  because  the  line  of  reflec- 

A 


Fig.  II. 

tion  passes  through  them,  and  not  over  them,  as  in  the 
first  instance. 

There  are  other  circumstances  belonging  to  reflection 
on  the  surface  of  water  which  deserve  attention,  and 
of  which  the  landscape  gardener  should  avail  himself 
in  the  exercise  of  his  art.  Water  in  motion,  whether 
agitated  by  wind  or  by  its  natural  current,  produces 
little  or  no  reflection;  but  in  artificial  rivers,  the  quiet 
surface  doubles  every  object  on  its  shores,  and  for  this 


c— 


Fig.   12. 


reason  I  have  frequently  found  that  the  surface  could 
be  increased  in  appearance  by  sloping  its  banks:  not 
only  that  which  actually  concealed  part  of  the  water 
but  also  the  opposite  bank;  because  it  increased  the 
quantity  of  sky  refle'cted  on  the  surface. 

Example.  The  spectator  at  a  [Fig.  12]   sees  the  sky 
reflected  only  from  b  to  c,  while  the  opposite  bank  is 


Morning  Effect  of  Light 


Evening  Effect  of  Light 

Plate  VII.    The  Thames,  from  Purley 


Theory  and  Practice 


round;  but  if  sloped  to  the  shaded  line,  less  of  the  bank 
will  be  reflected  in  the  water,  and  the  quantity  of  sky 
seen  in  the  water  will  be  from  b  to  d  ;  and  as  the  bril- 
liancy of  still  water  depends  on  the  sky  reflected  on 
its  surface,  the  quantity  of  water  will  be  apparently 
increased. 

As  properly  belonging  to  this  chapter  may  be  men- 
tioned a  curious  observation  which  occurred  in  the  view 
of  the  Thames  from  Purley.  In  the  morning  [see  Plate 
vii],  when  the  sun  was  in  the  east,  the  landscape  ap- 
peared to  consist  of  wood,  water,  and  distant  country, 
with  few  artificial  accompaniments ;  but  in  the  evening, 
when  the  sun  was  in  the  west,  objects  presented  them- 
selves which  were  in  the  morning  scarcely  visible.  In  the 
first  instance  the  wood  was  in  a  solemn  repose  of  shade  ; 
the  water,  reflecting  a  clear  sky,  was  so  brilliantly  illum- 
inated that  I  could  trace  the  whole  course  of  the  river; 
the  dark  trees  were  strongly  contrasted  by  the  vivid 
green  of  the  meadows,  and  the  outline  of  distant  hills 
was  distinctly  marked  by  the  brightness  of  the  atmo- 
sphere. I  could  scarcely  distinguish  any  other  objects; 
but  these  formed  a  pleasing  landscape,  from  the  breadth 
or  contrast  of  light  and  shade. 

In  the  evening  [Plate  vii]  the  scene  was  changed; 
dark  clouds  reflected  in  the  water  rendered  it  almost 
invisible,  the  opposite  hanging  wood  presented  one 
glare  of  rich  foliage,  not  so  beautiful  in  the  painter's 
eye  as  when  the  top  of  each  tree  was  relieved  by  small 
catching  lights:  but  the  most  prominent  features  were 
the  buildings,  the  boat,  the  path,  the  pales,  and  even 
the  distant  town  of  Reading,  now  strongly  gilded  by  the 
opposite  sun.     [Plate  vii.] 

On  comparing  this  effect  with  others  which  I  have 


90  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

frequently  since  observed,  I  draw  this  conclusion :  that 
certain  objects  appear  best  with  the  sun  behind  them, 
and  others  with  the  sun  full  upon  them ;  and  it  is  rather 
singular  that  to  the  former  belong  all  natural  objects, 
such  as  woods,  trees,  lawn,  water,  and  distant  mountains, 
while  to  the  latter  belong  all  artificial  objects,  such  as 
houses,  bridges,  roads,  boats,  arable  fields,  and  distant 
towns  or  villages. 

In  the  progress  of  this  work  I  shall  have  occasion  to 
call  the  reader's  attention  to  the  principles  here  assumed, 
and  which,  in  certain  situations,  are  of  great  importance 
and  require  to  be  well  considered. 


Chapter  III 


Water — Its  General  Treatment — Art  must  deceive 
to  imitate  Nature  —  Water  at  Wentworth  described 
—  A  River  easier  to  imitate  than  a  hake 


THE  observations  in  the  preceding  chapter  concern- 
ing the  reflection  of  sky  on  the  surface  of  water  will 
account  for  that  brilliant  and  cheerful  effect  produced 
by  a  small  pool,  frequently  placed  near  a  house,  although 
in  direct  violation  of  nature :  for  since  the  ground  ought 
to  slope  and  generally  does  slope  from  a  house,  the 
water  very  near  it  must  be  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  and 
of  course  artificial.  Although  I  have  never  proposed 
a  piece  of  water  to  be  made  in  such  a  situation,  I  have 
frequently  advised  that  small  pools  so  unnaturally  placed 
should  be  retained,  in  compliance  with  that  general 
satisfaction  which  the  eye  derives  from  the  glitter  of 
water,  however  absurd  its  situation. 

It  requires  a  degree  of  refinement  in  taste  bordering 
on  fastidiousness  to  remove  what  is  cheerful  and  pleas- 
ing to  the  eye,  merely  because  it  cannot  be  accounted 
for  by  the  common  laws  of  nature;  I  was,  however,  not 
sorry  to  discover  some  plea  for  my  compliance,  by  con- 
sidering that  although  water  on  a  hill  is  generally 
deemed  unnatural,  yet  all  rivers  derive  their  sources 
from  hills,  and  the  highest  mountains  are  known  to  have 
lakes  or  pools  of  water  near  their  summits. 

We  object,  therefore,  not  so  much  to  the  actual  situa- 
tion as  to  the  artificial  management  of  such  water.  We 


92  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

long  to  break  down  the  mound  of  earth  by  which  the 
water  is  confined,  although  we  might  afterwards  regret 
the  loss  of  its  cheerful  glitter  ;  and  hence,  perhaps,  arises 
that  baldness  in  artificial  pools,  so  disgusting  to  the 
painter  and  yet  so  pleasing  to  the  less  accurate  observer. 
The  latter  delights  in  a  broad  expanse  of  light  on  the 
smooth  surface,  reflecting  a  brilliant  sky  ;  the  former 
expects  to  find  that  surface  ruffled  by  the  winds,  or  the 
glare  of  light  in  parts  obscured  by  the  reflection  of  trees 
from  the  banks  of  the  water;  and  thus,  while  the  painter 
requires  a  picture,  the  less  scientific  observer  will  be 
satisfied  with  a  mirror. 

During  a  great  part  of  last  century  West  Wycombe 
was  deemed  a  garden  of  such  finished  beauty  that  to 
those  who  formerly  remembered  the  place  it  will  seem 
absurd  to  suggest  any  improvement.  But  time  will 
equally  extend  its  changing  influence  to  the  works  of 
nature  and  to  those  of  art,  since  the  planter  has  to  con- 
tend with  a  power  — 

♦'  A  hidden  power!  at  once  his  friend  and  foe! 
'T  is  Vegetation!  Gradual  to  his  groves 
She  gives  their  wished  effects,  and  that  displayed, 
O !  that  her  power  would  pause  ;  but,  active  still. 
She  swells  each  stem,  prolongs  each  vagrant  bough, 
And  darts,  with  unremitting  vigour  bold. 
From  grace  to  wild  luxuriance."  Mason. 

Thus,  at  West  Wycombe,  those  trees  and  shrubs  which 
were  once  its  greatest  ornament,  have  now  so  far  outgrown 
their  situation  that  the  whole  character  of  the  place 
is  altered ;  and  instead  of  that  gaiety  and  cheerfulness 
inspired  by  flowering  shrubs  and  young  trees,  gloom 
and  melancholy  seem  to  have  reared  their  standard  in  the 
branches  of  the  tallest  elms  and  to  shed  their  influence 
on  every  surrounding  object :  on  the  house,  by  lessen- 


Theory  and  Practice  93 

ing  its  importance ;  on  the  water,  by  darkening  its  sur- 
face; and  on  the  lawn,  by  lengthened  shadows. 

The  prodigious  height  of  the  trees  near  the  house 
has  not  merely  affected  the  character,  but  also  the  very 
situation  of  the  house.  Instead  of  appearing  to  stand 
on  a  dry  bank,  considerably  above  the  water  (as  it 
actually  does),  the  house  oppressed  by  the  neighbouring 
trees  became  damp,  and  appeared  to  have  been  placed 
in  a  gloomy  bottom,  while  the  water  was  hardly  visible, 
from  the  dark  reflection  of  the  trees  on  its  surface,  and 
the  views  of  the  distant  hills  were  totally  concealed  from 
the  house. 

It  is  a  fortunate  circumstance  for  the  possessor, 
where  improvement  can  be  made  rather  by  cutting 
down  than  by  planting  trees.  The  effect  is  instantly 
produced,  and  as  the  change  in  the  scenery  at  this 
place  has  actually  been  realised  before  I  could  make  a 
sketch  to  explain  its  necessity,  the  following  drawing 
serves  to  record  my  reason  for  so  boldly  advising  the 
use  of  the  axe.  I  am  well  aware  that  my  advice  may 
subject  me  to  the  criticism  of  some,  who  will  regret 
the  loss  of  old  trees,  which,  like  old  acquaintances, 
excite  a  degree  of  veneration,  even  when  their  age  and 
infirmity  have  rendered  them  useless,  perhaps  offens- 
ive, to  all  but  their  youthful  associates.  The  tedious 
process  of  rearing  and  planting  woods  and  the  dread- 
ful havoc  too  often  made  by  injudiciously  felling  large 
trees  ought  certainly  to  inspire  caution  and  diffidence; 
but  there  is  in  reality  no  more  temerity  in  marking 
the  trees  to  be  taken  down  than  those  to  be  planted, 
and  I  trust  there  has  not  been  a  single  tree  displaced 
at  West  Wycombe,  which  has  not  tended  to  improve 
the  healthfulness,  the  magnificence,  and  the  beauty  of 
the  place. 


94  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

Most  of  the  principal  rooms  having  a  north  aspect, 
the  landscape  requires  peculiar  management  not  gener- 
ally understood.  Lawn,  wood,  and  water  are  always 
seen  to  the  greatest  advantage  with  the  sun  behind 
them,  because  the  full  glare  of  light  between  opposite 
trees  destroys  the  contrast  of  wood  and  lawn  ;  while 
water  never  looks  so  brilliant  and  cheerful  when  reflect- 
ing the  northern  as  the  southern  sky.  A  view,  there- 
fore, to  the  north  would  be  dull  and  uninteresting 
without  some  artificial  objects,  such  as  boats  or  build- 
ings, or  distant  corn-fields,  to  receive  the  opposite 
beams  of  the  sun.  A  sketch  shewed  the  effect  of  tak- 
ing down  trees  to  admit  the  distant  woods,  and  by 
removing  those  on  the  island,  and  of  course  their 
reflection,  the  water  became  more  conspicuous ;  in 
addition,  the  proposed  road  of  approach,  with  car- 
riages occasionally  passing  near  the  banks  of  the  lake, 
will  give  animation  to  the  view  from  the  saloon. 

The  views  of  West  Wycombe,  being  taken  from 
the  proposed  approach,  I  shall  here  beg  leave  to  make 
a  short  digression,  explaining  my  reasons  for  that  line, 
founded  on  some  general  principles  respecting  an  ap- 
proach, although  it  has  no  other  reference  to  the  water 
than  as  it  justifies  its  course  in  passing  the  house  to 
arrive  at  its  object. 

If  the  display  of  magnificent  or  of  picturesque 
scenery  in  a  park  be  made  without  ostentation,  it  can 
be  no  more  at  variance  with  good  taste  than  the  display 
of  superior  affluence  in  the  houses,  the  equipage,  the 
furniture,  or  the  habiliments  of  wealthy  individuals. 
It  will,  therefore,  I  trust,  sufficiently  justify  the  line  of 
approach  here  proposed,  to  say  that  it  passes  through 
the  most  interesting  parts  of  the  grounds,  and  will  dis- 
play the  scenery  of  the  place  to  the  greatest  advantage, 


Theory  and  Practice  95 

without  making  any  violent  or  unnecessary  circuit  to 
include  objects  that  do  not  naturally  come  within  its 
reach.  This  I  deem  to  be  a  just  and  sufficient  motive, 
and  an  allowable  display  of  property  without  ostentation. 

The  former  approach  to  the  house  was  on  the  south 
side  of  the  valley,  and  objectionable  for  two  reasons : 
1st,  it  ascended  the  hill,  and,  after  passing  around  the 
whole  of  the  buildings,  it  descended  to  the  house,  mak- 
it  appear  to  stand  low ;  2d,  by  going  along  the  side 
of  the  hill,  little  of  the  park  was  shewn,  although  the 
road  actually  passed  through  it,  because,  on  an  inclined 
plane,  the  ground  which  either  rises  on  one  side  or 
falls  on  the  other,  becomes  foreshortened  and  little 
observed,  while  the  eye  is  directed  to  the  opposite  side 
of  the  valley,  which  in  this  instance  consisted  of  enclos- 
ures beyond  the  park.  On  the  contrary,  the  proposed 
new  approach,  being  on  the  north  side  of  the  valley, 
will  shew  the  park  on  the  opposite  bank  to  advantage, 
and,  by  ascending  to  the  house,  it  will  appear  in  its 
true  and  desirable  situation  upon  a  sufficient  eminence 
above  the  water :  yet,  backed  by  still  higher  ground, 
richly  clothed  with  wood,  this  view  of  the  house  will 
also  serve  to  explain  and,  I  hope,  to  justify  the  sacri- 
fice of  those  large  trees  which  have  been  cut  down 
upon  the  island,  and  whose  dark  shadows,  being  re- 
flected on  the  water,  excluded  all  cheerfulness. 

The  water  at  West  Wycombe,  from  the  brilliancy 
of  its  colour,  the  varieties  of  its  shores,  the  diff^erent 
courses  of  its  channel,  and  the  number  of  its  wooded 
islands,  possessed  a  degree  of  pleasing  intricacy  which 
I  have  rarely  seen  in  artificial  pools  or  rivers  ;  there 
appears  to  be  only  one  improvement  necessary  to  give 
it  all  the  variety  of  which  it  is  capable.  The  glassy  sur- 
face of  a  still,  calm  lake,  however  delightful,  is  not  more 


96  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

interesting  than  the  lively  brook  rippling  over  a  rocky 
bed,  but  when  the  latter  is  compared  with  a  narrow 
stagnant  creek,  it  must  have  a  decided  preference ;  and 
as  this  advantage  might  easily  be  obtained  in  view  of 
the  house,  I  think  it  ought  not  to  be  neglected. 

It  may  perhaps  be  objected  that  to  introduce  rock 
scenery  in  this  place  would  be  unnatural ;  but  if  this  arti- 
fice be  properly  executed,  no  eye  can  discover  the  illu- 
sion, and  it  is  only  by  such  deceptions  that  art  can 
imitate  the  most  pleasing  works  of  nature.  By  the  help 
of  such  illusion  we  may  see  the  interesting  struggles  of 
the  babbhng  brook,  which  soon  after 

—  **  spreads 
Into  a  liquid  plain,  then  stands  unmov'd. 
Pure  as  the  expanse  of  heaven." 

This  idea  has  been  realised  in  the  scenery  at  Adle- 
strop,  where  a  small  pool,  very  near  the  house,  was  sup- 
plied by  a  copious  spring  of  clear  water.  The  cheerful 
glitter  of  this  little  mirror,  although  on  the  top  of  the 
hill,  gave  pleasure  to  those  who  had  never  considered 
how  much  it  lessened  the  place,  by  attracting  the  eye 
and  preventing  its  range  over  the  lawn  and  fallingground 
beyond.  This  pool  has  now  been  removed;  a  lively 
stream  of  water  has  been  led  through  a  flower-garden, 
where  its  progress  down  the  hill  is  occasionally  ob- 
structed by  ledges  of  rocks,  and  after  a  variety  of  inter- 
esting circumstances  it  falls  into  a  lake  at  a  considerable 
distance,  but  in  full  view  both  of  the  mansion  and  the 
parsonage,  to  each  of  which  it  makes  a  delightful,  be- 
cause a  natural,  feature  in  the  landscape. 

Few  persons  have  seen  the  formal  cascade  atThoresby 
in  front  of  the  house  and  heard  its  solemn  roar,  without 
wishing  to  retain  a  feature  which  would  be  one  of  the 


Theory  and  Practice  97 

most  interesting  scenes  in  nature,  if  it  could  be  divested 
of  its  disgusting  and  artificial  formality;  but  this  can 
only  be  effected  by  an  equally  violent,  though  less  ap- 
parent, interference  of  art;  because,  without  absolutely 
copying  any  particular  scene  in  nature,  we  must  en- 
deavour to  imitate  the  causes  by  which  she  produces 
her  effects,  and  the  effects  will  be  natural. 

The  general  cause  of  a  natural  lake  or  expanse  of 
water  is  an  obstruction  to  the  current  of  a  stream  by 
some  ledge  or  stratum  of  rock  which  it  cannot  penetrate; 
but  as  soon  as  the  water  has  risen  to  the  surface  of  this 
rock,  it  tumbles  over  with  great  fury,  wearing  itself 
a  channel  among  the  craggy  fragments,  and  generally 
forming  an  ample  basin  at  its  foot.  Such  is  the  scenery 
we  must  attempt  to  imitate  at  Thoresby. 

Having  condemned  the  ill-judged  interference  of  art 
in  the  disposition  of  the  ground  and  water  at  Thoresby, 
it  may,  perhaps,  be  objected,  that  I  now  recommend  an 
artificial  management  not  less  extravagant,  because  I 
presume  to  introduce  some  appearance  of  rock  scenery 
in  a  soil  where  no  rock  naturally  exists;  but  the  same 
objection  might  be  made  with  equal  propriety  to  the  in- 
troduction of  an  artificial  lake  in  a  scene  where  no  lake 
before  existed.  When  under  the  guidance  of  Le  Notre 
and  his  disciples,  the  taste  for  geometric  gardening  pre- 
vailed, nature  was  totally  banished  or  conceal^  by  the 
works  of  art.  Now,  in  defining  the  shape  of  land  or 
water,  we  take  nature  for  our  model;  and  the  highest 
perfection  of  landscape  gardening  is  to  imitate  nature 
so  judiciously  that  the  interference  of  art  shall  never 
be  detected. 

A  rapid  stream,  violently  agitated,  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  objects  in  nature.  Yet  this  can  seldom  be 
enjoyed  except  in  a  rocky  country;  since  the  more  im- 


98  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

petuous  the  stream,  the  sooner  will  it  be  buried  within  its 
banks,  unless  they  are  of  such  materials  as  can  resist  its 
fury.  To  imitate  this  natural  effect,  therefore,  in  a  soil 
hke  that  of  Thoresby,  we  must  either  force  the  stream 
above  its  level  and  deprive  it  of  natural  motion,  or  in- 
troduce a  foundation  of  stones  disposed  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  appear  the  rocky  channel  of  the  mountain 
stream.  The  former  has  been  already  done  in  forming 
the  lake,  and  the  latter  has  been  attempted,  according 
to  the  fashion  of  geometric  gardening,  in  the  regular 
cascade,  where  a  great  body  of  water  was  led  under- 
ground from  the  lake  to  move  downstairs,  into  a  scal- 
loped basin,  between  two  bridges  immediately  in  front 
of  the  house. 

The  violence  done  to  nature  by  the  introduction  of 
rock  scenery  at  Thoresby  is  the  more  allowable,  since 
it  is  within  a  short  distance  of  Derbyshire,  the  most 
romantic  county  in  England ;  while,  from  the  awful 
and  picturesque  scenery  of  Creswell  Crags,  such  strata 
and  ledges  of  stone,  covered  with  their  natural  vegeta- 
tion, may  be  transported  thither,  that  no  eye  can 
discover  the  fraud. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  for  any  admirer  of  nature  to 
be  more  enthusiastically  fond  of  her  romantic  scenery 
than  myself;  but  her  wildest  features  are  seldom  within 
the  common  range  of  man's  habitation.  The  rugged 
paths  of  alpine  regions  will  not  be  daily  trodden  by  the 
foot  of  affluence,  nor  will  the  thundering  cataracts  of 
Niagara  seduce  the  votaries  of  pleasure  frequently  to 
visit  their  wonders  ;  it  is  only  by  a  pleasing  illusion  that 
we  can  avail  ourselves  of  those  means  which  nature 
herself  furnishes,  even  in  tame  scenery,  to  imitate  her 
bolder  effects ;  and  to  this  illusion,  if  well  conducted, 
the  eye  of  genuine  taste  will  not  refuse  its  assent. 


Theory  and  Practice  99 

"La  Nature  fuit  les  lieux  frequentes  ;  c'est  au  som- 
met  des  montagnes,  au  fond  des  forets,  dans  les  isles 
desertes,  qu'elle  etale  ses  charmes  les  plus  touchants  ; 
ceux  qui  I'aiment  et  ne  peuvent  Taller  chercher  si  loin, 
sont  reduits  a  lui  faire  violence,  et  a  la  forcer  en  quelque 
sorte  a  venir  habiter  parmi  eux,  et  tout  cela  ne  peut  se 
faire  sans  un  peu  d'illusion." — J.  J.  Rousseau. 

[Nature  flies  from  frequented  places  ;  it  is  on  the 
summit  of  mountains,  in  the  depths  of  forests,  and  in 
desert  islands  that  she  displays  her  most  affecting 
charms  ;  those  who  love  her,  and  who  cannot  go  so  far 
in  search  of  her,  are  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  con- 
straining her,  and  forcing  her  to  take  up  her  habitation 
among  them  ;  but  this  cannot  be  done  without  a  certain 
degree  of  illusion.] 

One  of  the  views  from  the  house  at  Thoresby  looked 
towards 

"  the  long  line 
Deep  delv'd  of  flat  canal,  and  all  that  toil. 
Misled  by  tasteless  fashion,  could  achieve. 
To  mar  fair  Nature's  lineaments  divine."  Mason. 

As,  in  this  instance,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  propose 
a  different  idea  to  that  suggested  by  Mr.  Brown,  I  must 
beg  leave  to  explain  the  reasons  on  which  I  ground  my 
opinion. 

Amidst  the  numerous  proofs  of  taste  and  judgement 
which  that  celebrated  landscape  gardener  has  left  for 
our  admiration,  he  frequently  mistook  the  character 
of  running  water ;  he  was  too  apt  to  check  its  pro- 
gress, by  converting  a  lively  river  into  a  stagnant 
pool,  nay,  he  even  dared  to  check  the  progress  of 
the  furious  Derwent  at  Chatsworth,  and  transform 
it  into  a  tame  and  sleepy  river  unworthy  the  majesty 


loo        The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

of  that  palace  of  the  mountains.  Such  was  his  inten- 
tion with  respect  to  the  stream  of  water  which  flows 
through  Thoresby  Park ;  but  since  the  lake  presents 
a  magnificent  expanse  of  water,  the  river  below  the 
cascade  should  be  restored  to  its  natural  character : 
a  rivulet  in  motion. 

At  Wentworth,  although  the  quantity  of  water  is 
very  considerable,  yet  it  is  so  disposed  as  to  be  little 
seen  from  the  present  approach,  and  when  it  is  crossed 
in  the  drive  on  the  head  between  two  pools,  the  arti- 
ficial management  destroys  much  of  its  effect:  they 
appear  to  be  several  distinct  ponds,  and  not  the  series 
of  lakes  which  nature  produces  in  a  mountainous  coun- 
try. But  the  character  of  this  water  should  rather 
imitate  one  large  river  than  several  small  lakes;  espe- 
cially as  it  is  much  easier  to  produce  the  appearance  of 
continuity  than  of  such  vast  expanse  as  a  lake  requires. 
The  following  sketch  [Plate  ix]  is  a  view  of  the 
scenery  presenting  itself  under  the  branches  of  trees, 
which  act  as  a  frame  to  the  landscape. 

To  preserve  the  idea  of  a  river,  nothing  is  so  effect- 
ual as  a  bridge;  instead  of  dividing  the  water  on  each 
side,  it  always  tends  to  lengthen  its  continuity  by  shew- 
ing the  impossibility  of  crossing  it  by  any  other  means, 
provided  the  ends  are  well  concealed,  which  is  fortun- 
ately the  case  with  respect  to  this  water.  Although  the 
upper  side  of  the  bridge  would  be  very  little  seen, 
because  the  banks  are  everywhere  planted,  yet,  as  the 
bridge  would  not  be  more  than  fifty  yards  long,  it  would 
be  more  in  character  with  the  greatness  of  the  place  to 
have  such  a  bridge  as  would  nowhere  appear  a  decep- 
tion, and  in  this  case  the  different  levels  of  the  water 
(being  only  five  feet)  would  never  be  discovered. 


Theory  and  Practice  ioi 

The  rippling  motion  of  water  is  a  circumstance  to 
which  improvers  have  seldom  paid  sufficient  attention. 
They  generally  aim  at  a  broad  expanse  and  depth,  not 
considering  that  a  narrow  shallow  brook  in  motion  over 
a  gravelly  bottom  is  not  less  an  object  of  beauty  and 
worthy  of  imitation ;  the  deep  dell  betwixt  the  boat- 
house  and  the  bridge  might  be  rendered  very  interesting 
by  bringing  a  lively  brook  along  the  valley;  the  em- 
bouchure of  this  brook  should  be  laid  with  gravel,  to 
induce  cattle  to  form  themselves  in  groups  at  the  edge 
of  the  water,  which  is  one  of  the  most  pleasing  circum- 
stances of  natural  landscape.  It  sometimes  happens, 
near  large  rivers,  that  a  clear  spring  bubbles  from  a 
fountain,  and  pours  its  waters  rapidly  into  the  neigh- 
bouring stream  ;  this  is  always  considered  a  delightful 
object  in  nature,  yet  I  do  not  recollect  it  has  ever  been 
imitated  by  art.  It  would  be  very  easy  to  produce  it  in 
this  instance  by  leading  water  in  a  channel  from  the 
upper  pool,  and  after  passing  underground  by  tubes 
for  a  few  yards,  let  it  suddenly  burst  through  a  bed  of 
sand  and  stones,  and  being  thus  filtered  by  ascent,  it 
would  ripple  along  the  valley  till  it  joined  the  great 
water.  Milton  was  aware  of  this  contrast  betwixt  the 
river  and  the  rill,  where  he  mentions,  amongst  the 
scenery  of  his  Allegro, 

**  Shallow  brooks  and  rivers  wide." 

Where  two  pieces  of  water  are  at  some  distance 
from  each  other,  and  of  such  different  levels  that  they 
cannot  easily  be  made  to  unite  in  one  sheet,  if  there 
be  a  sufficient  supply  to  furnish  a  continual  stream,  or 
only  an  occasional  redundance  in  winter,  the  most 
picturesque  mode  of  uniting  the  two  is  by  imitating 
a  common  process  of  nature  in  mountainous  countries. 


I02         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

where  we  often  see  the  water,  in  Its  progress  from  one 
lake  to  another,  dashing  among  broken  fragments  or 
gently  gliding  over  ledges  of  rock  which  form  the 
bottom  of  the  channel.  This  may  be  accomplished  at 
Harewood,  where  the  most  beautiful  stone  is  easily 
procured,  but  in  disposing  the  ledges  of  rock,  they 
should  not  be  laid  horizontally,  but  with  the  same 
slanting  inclination  that  is  observed,  more  or  less,  in  the 
bed  of  the  neighbouring  river. 


Chapter  IV 


Planting  —  Immediate  and  Future  Effect  —  Clumps 
—  Groups  —  Masses  —  The  Browsing-Line  de- 
scribed—  Combination  of  Masses  to  produce  Great 
Woods  —  Character  and  Shape  of  Ground  to  be 
studied —  Outline  of  New  Plantations 


THE  following  observations  on  planting  are  not 
intended  to  pursue  the  minute  detail  so  copiously 
and  scientifically  described  in  Evelyn's  "  Sylva,"  and 
so  frequently  quoted,  or  rather  repeated  from  him, 
in  modern  publications;  I  shall  merely  consider  it  as 
a  relative  subject :  and  being  one  of  the  chief  ornaments 
in  landscape  gardening  when  skilfully  appropriated,  I 
shall  divide  it  into  two  distinct  heads :  the  first  includ- 
ing those  single  trees  or  groups  which  may  be  planted 
of  a  larger  size  to  produce  present  effect ;  the  second 
comprehending  those  masses  of  plantations  destined  to 
become  woods  or  groves  for  future  generations. 

Since  few  of  the  practical  followers  of  Mr.  Brown 
possessed  that  force  of  genius  which  rendered  him, 
according  to  Mason, 

"  the  living  leader  of  thy  powers. 
Great  Nature," 

it  is  no  wonder  that  they  should  have  occasionally  copied 
the  means  he  used,  without  considering  the  eff^ect  which 
he  intended  to  produce.  Thus  Brown  has  been  treated 
with  ridicule  by  the  contemptuous  observation  that  all 
his  improvements  consisted  in  belting,  clumping,  and 


I04         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

dotting.  But  I  conceive  the  two  latter  ought  rather  to 
be  considered  as  cause  and  effect  than  as  two  distinct 
ideas  of  improvement,  for  the  disagreeable  and  artificial 
appearance  of  young  trees,  when  protected  by  what  is 
called  a  cradle  fence,  together  with  the  difficulty  of  making 
them  grow  thus  exposed  to  the  wind,  induced  Mr. 
Brown  to  form  small  clumps  fenced  round,  containing 
a  number  of  trees  calculated  to  shelter  each  other  and 
to  promote  the  growth  of  those  few  which  might  be 
ultimately  destined  to  remain  and  form  a  group.  This 
I  apprehend  was  the  origin  and  intention  of  those 
clumps,  and  that  they  never  were  designed  as  ornaments 
in  themselves,  but  as  the  most  efficacious  and  least  dis- 
gusting manner  of  producing  single  trees  and  groups  to 
vary  the  surface  of  a  lawn,  and  break  its  uniformity  by 
light  and  shadow. 

In  some  situations,  where  great  masses  of  wood  and 
a  large  expanse  of  open  lawn  prevail,  the  contrast  is  too 
violent,  and  the  mind  becomes  dissatisfied  by  the  want 
of  unity.  We  are  never  well  pleased  with  a  composition 
in  natural  landscape,  unless  the  wood  and  lawn  are  so 
blended  that  the  eye  cannot  trace  the  precise  limits  of 
either,  yet  it  is  necessary  that  each  should  preserve  its 
original  character  in  broad  masses  of  light  and  shadow; 
for  although  a  large  wood  may  be  occasionally  relieved 
by  clearing  small  openings  to  break  the  heaviness  of 
the  mass,  or  vary  the  formality  of  its  outline,  yet  the 
general  character  of  shade  must  not  be  destroyed. 

In  like  manner  the  too  great  expanse  of  light  on 
a  lawn  must  be  broken  and  diversified  by  occasional 
shadow,  but  if  too  many  trees  be  introduced  for  this 
purpose,  the  effect  becomes  frittered,  and  the  eye  is 
offended  by  a  deficiency  of  composition,  or,  as  the 
painter  would  express  it,  of  a  due  breadth  of  light  and 


Theory  and  Practice  105 

shade.  Now  it  is  obvious  that,  in  newly  formed  places, 
such  a  redundance  of  trees  will  generally  remain  from 
former  hedge-rows  that  there  can  seldom  be  occasion 
to  increase  the  number  of  single  trees,  though  it  will 
often  be  advisable  to  combine  them  into  proper  groups. 
It  is  a  mistaken  idea,  scarcely  worthy  of  notice,  that 
the  beauty  of  a  group  of  trees  consists  in  odd  numbers, 
such  as  five,  seven,  or  nine;  a  conceit  which  1  have 
known  to  be  seriously  asserted.  I  should  rather  pro- 
nounce that  no  group  of  trees  can  be  natural  in  which 
the  plants  are  studiously  placed  at  equal  distances,  how- 


Artificial  Scenery. 


ever  irregular  in  their  forms.  Those  pleasing  combina- 
tions of  trees  which  we  admire  in  forest  scenery  will  often 
be  found  to  consist  of  forked  trees,  or  at  least  of  trees 
placed  so  near  each  other  that  the  branches  intermix, 
and  by  a  natural  effort  of  vegetation  the  stems  of  the 
trees  themselvesare  forced  from  thatperpendicular  direc- 
tion which  is  always  observable  in  trees  planted  at  regular 
distances  from  each  other.  No  groups  will  therefore 
appear  natural  unless  two  or  more  trees  are  planted  very 
near  each  other,"'  whilst  the  perfection  of  a  group  consists 


io6 


The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardenii 


in  the  combination  of  trees  of  different  age,  size,  and 
character. 

The  two  sketches  annexed   exemplify  this  remark  ; 
the  first  [Fig.  13]  represents  a  few  young  trees  protected 


Fig.    14.     Natural  Scenery. 

by  cradles,  and  though  some  of  them  appear  nearer  to- 
gether than  others,  it  arises  from  their  being  seen  in  per- 
spective, for  I  suppose  them  to  be  planted  (as  they  usually 
are)  at  nearly  equal  distances.  In  the  same  landscape  I 
have  supposed  the  same  trees  grown  to  a  considerable 
size,  but  from  their  equi-distance  the  stems  are  all  parallel 
to  each  other,  and  not  like  the  group  in  Fig.  14,  where 
being  planted  much  nearer,  the  trees  naturally  recede 
from  each  other.  A  few  low  bushes  or  thorns  produce 
the  kind  of  group  in  the  second  sketch  [Fig.  14],  con- 
sisting of  trees  and  bushes  of  various  growth.  It  may  be 
observed  that  the  single  tree,  and  every  part  of  the  first 
sketch,  is  evidently  artificial,  and  that  the  second  one  is 
natural,  and  like  the  groups  in  a  forest. 

Another  source  of  variety  may  be  produced  by  such 
opaque  masses  of  spinous  plants  as  protect  themselves 
from  cattle ;  thus  stems  of  trees  seen  against  lawn  or  water 


Theory  and  Practice  107 

are  comparatively  dark,  while  those  contrasted  with  a  back- 
ground of  wood  appear  light.  This  difference  is  shewn 
in  both  these  sketches :  the  stems  of  the  trees  a  a  appear 
light,  and  those  2it  b  b  are  dark,  merely  from  the  power 
of  contrast,  although  both  are  exposed  to  the  same  de- 
gree of  light. 

Where  a  large  tract  of  waste  heath  or  common  is  near 
the  boundary  of  a  park,  if  it  cannot  be  enclosed,  it  is 
usual  to  dot  certain  small  patches  of  trees  upon  it,  with 
an  idea  of  improvement;  a  few  clumps  of  miserable  Scotch 
firs,  surrounded  by  a  mud  wall,  are  scattered  over  a  great 
plain,  which  the  modern  improver  calls  "  clumping  the 
common."  It  is  thus  that  Hounslow  Heath  has  been 
clumped  ;  and  even  the  vast  range  of  country  formerly 
the  Forest  of  Sherwood  has  submitted  to  this  meagre 
kind  of  misnamed  ornament. 

It  may  appear  unaccountable  that  these  examples, 
which  have  not  the  least  beauty  either  of  nature  or  art 
to  recommend  them,  should  be  so  generally  followed ; 
but  alteration  is  frequently  mistaken  for  improvement, 
and  two  or  three  clumps  of  trees,  however  bad  in  them- 
selves, will  change  the  plain  surface  of  a  flat  common. 
This  I  suppose  has  been  the  cause  of  planting  some 
spruce  firs  on  Maiden  Early  Common,  which  fortunately 
do  not  grow ;  for  if  they  succeeded,  the  contrast  is  so 
violent  between  the  wild  surface  of  a  heathand  the  spruce 
appearance  of  firs  that  they  would  be  misplaced :  besides, 
the  spiral  firs  are  seldom  beautiful,  except  when  their 
lower  branches  sweep  upon  the  ground,  and  this  could 
never  be  the  case  with  those  exposed  to  cattle  on  a 
common. 

A  far  better  method  of  planting  waste  land,  where  en- 
closures are  not  permitted,  has  been  adopted  with  great 
success  in  Norfolk,  by  my  much  valued  friend  the  late 


io8         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

Robert  Marsham,  Esq.,  of  Stratton.  Instead  of  firs  sur- 
rounded by  a  mud  bank,  he  placed  deciduous  trees  of 
every  kind,  but  especially  birch,  intermixed  with  thorns, 
crabs,  and  old  hollies,  cutting  off  their  heads  and  all  their 
branches  about  eight  feet  from  the  ground :  these  are 
planted  in  a  puddle  and  the  earth  laid  round  their  roots 
in  small  hillocks,  which  prevent  the  cattle  from  standing 
very  near  to  rub  them  ;  and  thus  I  have  seen  groups  of 
trees  which  looked  like  bare  poles  the  first  year,  in  a 
very  short  time  become  beautiful  ornaments  to  a  dreary 
waste. 

Mr.  Gilpin,  in  his  "  Forest  Scenery,"  has  given  some 
specimens  of  the  outlines  of  a  wood,  one  of  which  is  not 
unlike  that  beautiful  screen  which  bounds  the  park  to  the 
north  of  Milton  Abbey,  and  which  the  first  of  the  an- 
nexed sketches  [Plate  xi]  more  accurately  represents. 
We  have  here  a  very  pleasing  and  varied  line  formed 
by  the  tops  of  trees,  but,  from  the  distance  at  which 
they  are  viewed,  they  seem  to  stand  on  one  straight 
base-line,  although  many  of  the  trees  are  separated  from 
the  others  by  a  considerable  distance:  the  upper  out- 
line of  this  screen  is  so  happily  varied  that  the  eye  is 
not  offended  by  the  straight  line  at  its  base.  But  there 
is  another  line  which  is  apt  to  create  disgust  in  flat  situ- 
ations, and  for  this  reason — all  trees  unprotected  from 
cattle  will  be  stripped  of  their  foliage  to  a  certain 
height,  and  where  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  perfectly 
flat  and  forms  one  straight  line,  the  stems  of  trees  thus 
brought  to  view  by  the  browsing  of  cattle  will  present 
another  straight  line  parallel  to  the  ground,  at  about  six 
feet  high,  which  I  shall  call  the  browsing-line. 

Whether  trees  be  planted  near  the  eye  or  at  a  distance 
from  it,  and  whether  they  be  very  young  plants  or  of  the 


Theory  and  Practice  109 

greatest  stature,  this  browsing-line  will  always  be  par- 
allel to  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  being  just  above 
the  eye,  if  the  heads  of  single  trees  do  not  rise  above  the 
outline  of  more  distant  woods,  the  stems  will  appear  only 
like  stakes  of  different  sizes  scattered  about  the  plain  ; 
this  is  evidently  the  effect  of  those  single  thorns  or  trees 
in  the  sketch  [Plate  xi]  marked  ^,  b^  c. 

In  the  sketches  [Plate  xi]  I  have  represented  a  view 
of  that  long  screen  at  Milton  Abbey  which  shuts  out 
Castor  field,  and  which  is  certainly  not  a  pleasing  feat- 
ure, from  its  presenting  not  only  a  straight  line  at  the 
bottom,  but  the  trees  being  all  of  the  same  age,  the  top 
outline  is  also  straight.  This  screen  forms  the  background 
of  a  view  taken  from  the  approach,  and  represents  the 
difference  between  an  attempt  to  break  the  uniformity  of 
the  plain  by  open  or  by  close  plantations. 

The  trees  of  this  screen  are  of  such  a  height  that  we 
can  hardly  expect,  in  the  life  of  man,  to  break  the  upper 
outline  by  any  young  trees,  except  they  are  planted  very 
near  the  eye,  as  at  ^,  because  those  planted  -at  f  ox  g  [in 
the  same  figure]  will,  by  the  laws  of  perspective,  sink 
beneath  the  outline  of  the  screen ;  it  is  therefore  not  in 
our  power  to  vary  the  upper  line,  and  if  the  plantations 
be  open  the  browsing-line  will  make  a  disagreeable  par- 
allel with  the  even  surface  of  the  ground  ;  this  can  only 
be  remedied  by  preventing  cattle  from  browsing  the 
underwood,  which  should  always  be  encouraged  in  such 
situations  ;  thus,  although  we  cannot  vary  the  upper 
line  of  this  screen,  we  may  give  such  variety  to  its 
base  as  will,  in  some  measure,  counteract  the  flatness  of 
its  appearance. 

The  browsing-line  being  always  at  nearly  the  same 
distance  of  about  six  feet  from  the  ground,  it  acts  as 
a  scale  by  which  the  eye  measures  the  comparative  height 


no         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

of  trees  at  any  distance  ;  for  this  reason  the  importance 
of  a  large  tree  may  be  injured  by  cutting  the  lower 
branches  above  this  usual  standard.  It  is  obvious  that 
the  foregoing  trees  [see  Fig.  15]  are  of  different  ages, 


characters,  and  heights,  yet  the  browsing-line  is  the  same 
in  all,  and  furnishes  a  natural  scale  by  which  we  at  once 
decide  on  their  relative  heights  at  various  distances. 

Let  us  suppose  the  same  trees  pruned  or  trimmed  by 
man  [as  in  Fig.  16],  and  not  by  cattle,  and  this  scale  will 
be  destroyed:  thus,  a  full  grown  oak  may  be  made  to 
look  like  an  orchard-tree,  or  by  encouraging  the  under 
branches  to  grow  lower  than  the  usual  standard,  a  thorn 


or  a  crab-tree  may  be  mistaken  for  an  oak,  at  a  dis- 
tance. 

Single  trees,or  open  groups,  areobjects  of  great  beauty 
when  scattered  on  the  side  of  a  steep  hill,  because  they 
may  be  made  to  mark  the  degree  of  its  declivity,  and 
the  shadows  of  the  trees  are  very  conspicuous  ;  but  on 


Theory  and  Practice 


III 


a  plain  the  shadows  are  little  seen,  and  therefore  single 
trees  are  of  less  use. 

I  am  now  to  speak  of  plantations  for  future,  rather 
than  for  immediate  effect,  and  instead  of  mentioning 
large  tracts  of  land  which  have  been  planted  under  my 
directions,  where  a  naked  or  a  barren  country  has  been 
clothed  without  difficulty  or  contrivance,  I  shall  rather 
instance  a  subject  requiring  peculiar  management,  es- 
pecially as,  from  its  vicinity  to  a  highroad,  I  cannot 
perhaps  produce  a  better  example  than  the  following 
extract  furnishes  : 

Coombe  Lodge,  seen  from  the  turnpike  road, does  not 
at  present  give  a  favourable  impression  ;  for  though  the 
view  from  the  house,  consisting  of  the  opposite  banks 
of  Basildon,  is  richly  wooded,  the  place  itself  is  naked  ; 
and  it  is  difficult  to  remove  this  objection  without  sac- 
rificing more  land  to  the  purposes  of  beauty  than  would 
be  advisable  or  even  justifiable.  Both  the  situation  and 
the  outline  of  the  house  at  Coombe  Lodge  have  been 
determined  with  judgement:  the  situation  derives  great 
advantage  from  its  southern  aspect  and  from  the  views 
which  it  commands  ;  and  the  house  derives  importance 
from  its  extended  front.  Both  these  circumstances,  how- 
ever, contribute  to  the  bad  opinion  conceived  of  the  place 
when  viewed  from  the  road,  which  is  the  point  from 
whence  its  defects  are  most  apparent. 

The  front  towards  the  road  faces  the  south,  and  is  there- 
fore lighted  by  thesun  during  thegreatest  part  of  the  day; 
but  being  backed  by  lawn  and  arable  land,  and  not  re- 
lieved by  wood,  the  effect  of  sunshine  is  equally  strong 
on  the  background  as  on  the  house,  because  there  is  not 
a  sufficient  opposition  of  colour  to  separate  these  different 
objects;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  the  house  be  opposed  to 


112  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

wood,  it  will  then  appear  light  and  conspicuous,  the  atten- 
tion being  principally  directed  to  the  mansion,  while  the 
other  parts  of  the  scene  will  be  duly  subordinate. 

It  is  also  proper  that  the  grounds  should  accord  with 
the  size  and  style  of  the  place,  and  that  the  mansion  be 
surrounded  by  its  appropriate  appendages.  At  present 
the  character  of  the  house  and  that  of  the  place  are  at 
variance  :  the  latter  is  that  of  a  farm,  but  the  character 
of  the  house  is  that  of  a  gentleman's  residence,  which 
should  be  surrounded  by  pleasure-grounds,  wood  and 
lawn  ;  and  although  great  credit  is  due  to  those  gentle- 
men who  patronise  farming  by  their  example  as  well  as 
by  their  influence,  it  would  be  a  reflection  on  the  good 
taste  of  the  country  to  suppose  that  the  habitation  of  the 
gentleman  ought  not  to  be  distinguished  from  that  of 
the  farmer,  as  well  in  the  character  of  the  place  as  by  the 
size  of  the  house. 

I  shall  not  on  this  occasion  enter  into  a  discussion  of 
the  diff^erence  between  a  scene  in  nature  and  a  landscape 
on  the  painter's  canvas  ;  nor  consider  the  very  difi^erent 
means  by  which  the  painter  and  the  landscape  gardener 
produce  the  same  eflfect :  I  shal  1  merely  endeavour  to  shew 
how  far  the  same  principles  would  direct  the  professors 
of  either  art  in  the  improvement  of  Coombe  Lodge,  and 
more  particularly  in  the  form  and  character  of  the  wood 
to  the  north  of  the  house. 

Breadth,  which  is  one  of  the  first  principles  of  paint- 
ing, would  prompt  the  necessity  of  planting  the  whole 
of  the  hill  behind  the  house;  but  the  improver,  who  em- 
bellishes the  scene  for  the  purposes  of  general  utility  and 
real  life,  must  adopt  what  is  convenient  as  well  as  beauti- 
ful. The  painter,  when  he  studies  the  perfection  of  his 
art,  forms  a  correct  picture  and  takes  beauty  for  his  guide. 
The  improver  consults  the  genius  of  the  scene  and  con- 


Theory  and  Practice  113 

nects  beauty  with  those  useful  supporters,  economy  and 
convenience ;  and  as  Coombe  Lodge  would  not  be  re- 
lieved by  one  large  wood  without  a  great  sacrifice  of  land, 
the  effect  must  be  produced  by  planting  a  part  only, 
whilst  the  judgement  must  be  influenced  by  two  princi- 
ples belonging  to  the  sister  art,  breadth  and  intricacy. 

Breadth  directs  the  necessity  of  large  masses  or  con- 
tinued lines  of  plantation,  whilst  intricacy  suggests  the 
shape  and  direction  of  the  glades  of  lawn,  and  teaches 
how  to  place  loose  groups  of  trees  and  separate  masses 
of  brushwood,  where  the  outline  might  otherwise  appear 
hard  ;  and  by  occasional  interruptions  to  the  flowing  lines 
of  grass,  with  suitable  recesses  and  projections  of  wood, 
intricacy  contrives  to  "  lead  the  eye  a  wanton  chase," 
producing  variety  without  fritter,  and  continuity  without 
sameness. 

There  is  another  principle  to  guide  the  improver  in 
planting  the  hill  in  question,  which  may  be  derived  from 
the  art  of  painting  and  belongs  to  perspective.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  if  the  whole  bank  were  planted  its  efl^ect  would 
be  good  from  every  point  of  view:  it  is  no  less  evident 
that  where  it  is  necessary  to  regard  economy  in  planting, 
and,  as  in  the  present  instance,  to  produce  the  efi^ect  of 
clothing  by  several  lines  of  wood,  instead  of  one  great 
mass,  that  effect  from  some  points  of  sight  may  be  good, 
from  some  indifferent,  and  from  others  bad ;  it  is  there- 
fore necessary  to  consider  how  those  lines  of  plantation 
which  produce  a  good  effect  from  the  house  will  appear 
in  perspective  from  different  heights  and  from  different 
situations,  and  this  question  has  been  determined  by 
various  circumstances  of  the  place  itself. 

This  subject  was  elucidated  by  as  many  drawings  as 
there  were  stations  described  ;  but  as  most  of  them  were 
taken  from  the  public  road  between  Reading  and  Wal- 


114         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

lingford,  the  effect  of  these  plantations  will  be  seen  from 
thence ;  and  I  have  availed  myself,  as  much  as  possible, 
of  those  examples  which,  from  their  proximity  to  a  public 
road,  are  most  likely  to  be  generally  observed. 

Ifthe  more  common  appearances  in  nature  were  objects 
of  our  imitation  we  should  certainly  plant  the  valleys  and 
not  the  hills,  since  nature  generally  adopts  this  rule  in 
her  spontaneous  plantations  ;  but  it  is  "  la  belle  nature," 
or  those  occasional  effects  of  extraordinary  beauty,  which 
nature  furnishes  as  models  to  the  landscape  gardener. 
And  although  a  wood  on  the  summit  of  a  bleak  hill  may 
not  be  soprofitable,  or  growso  fast,  as  one  in  the  sheltered 
valley,  yet  its  advantages  will  be  strongly  felt  on  the 
surrounding  soil.  The  verdure  will  be  improved  when 
defended  from  winds  and  fertilised  by  the  successive  fall 
of  leaves,  whilst  the  cattle  will  more  readily  frequent  the 
hills  when  they  are  sheltered  and  protected  by  sufficient 
screens  of  plantations.^^ 

In  recommending  that  the  hills  should  be  planted, 
I  do  not  mean  that  the  summits  should  be  covered  by 
a  patch  or  clump;  the  woods  of  the  valleys  should,  on 
the  contrary,  seem  to  climb  the  hills  by  such  connecting 
lines  as  may  neither  appear  meagre  nor  artificial,  but, 
following  the  natural  shapes  of  the  ground,  produce 
an  apparent  continuity  of  wood  falling  down  the  hills  in 
various  directions. 

"  Rich  the  robe. 
And  ample  let  it  flow,  that  Nature  wears 
On  her  thron'd  eminence  !  where'er  she  takes 
Her  horizontal  march,  pursue  her  step 
With  sweeping  train  of  forest ;   hill  to  hill 
Unite  with  prodigality  of  shade." 

Mason. 

During  the  first  few  years  of  large  plantations  in 
a  naked  country,  the  outline,  however  graceful,  will  ap- 


Theory  and  Practice  115 

pear  hard  and  artificial ;  but  when  the  trees  begin  to 
require  thinning,  a  few  single  trees  or  groups  may  be 
brought  forward.  The  precise  period  at  which  this  may 
be  advisable  must  depend  on  the  nature  of  the  soil :  but 
so  rich  is  the  ground  in  which  plantations  were  made  at 
Aston,  about  ten  years  since,  that  this  management  has 
already  been  adopted  with  effect. 

Although  it  will  again  be  repeated  in  the  chapter 
treating  of  fences,  I  must  observe  in  this  place  that, 
instead  of  protecting  large  plantations  with  hedges  and 
ditches,  I  have  generally  recommended  a  temporary 
fence  of  posts  and  rails,  or  hurdles  on  the  outside,  and 
either  advise  a  hedge  of  thorns  to  be  planted  at  eight 
or  ten  yards  distance  from  the  outline,  or  rather  that 
the  whole  plantation  be  so  filled  with  thorns  and  spinous 
plants  that  the  cattle  may  not  penetrate  far  when  the 
temporary  fences  shall  be  removed,  and  thus  may  be 
formed  that  beautiful  and  irregular  outline  so  much 
admired  in  the  woods  and  thickets  of  a  forest. 


Chapter  V 


Woods  —  Intricacy  —  Variety  —  A  Belt  —  On 
thinning  Woods  —  Leaving  Groups  —  Opening  a 
Lawn  in  Great  Woods 


OBSERVATIONS  on  Modern  Gardening,"  by 
the  late  Mr.  Whateley,  contain  some  remarks  pe- 
culiarly applicable  to  the  improvement  of  woods,  and  so 
clearly  expressive  of  my  own  sentiments  that  I  beg  to 
introduce  the  ample  quotation  inserted  in  the  note,""* 
especially  as  the  annexed  drawings  [Plate  xii]  convey 
specimens  of  these  rules,  which  require  but  little  further 
elucidation. 

The  beech  woods  in  Buckinghamshire  derive  more 
beauty  from  the  unequal  and  varied  surface  of  the  ground 
on  which  they  are  planted  than  from  the  surface  of  the 
woods  themselves;  because  they  have  generally  more 
the  appearance  of  copses  than  of  woods  :  and  as  few 
of  the  trees  are  suffered  to  arrive  to  great  size,  there 
is  a  deficiency  of  that  venerable  dignity  which  a  grove 
always  ought  to  possess. 

These  woods  are  evidently  considered  rather  as  objects 
of  profit  than  of  picturesque  beauty  ;  and  it  is  a  circum- 
stance to  be  regretted  that  pecuniary  advantage  and 
ornament  are  seldom  strictly  compatible  with  each  other. 
The  underwood  cannot  be  protected  from  cattle  without 
fences,  and  if  the  fence  be  a  live  hedge  the  trees  lose  half 
their  beauty,  while  they  appear  confined  within  the  un- 
sightly boundary.  To  remedy  this  defect,  the  quick-fence 
at  Shardeloes  has,  in   many  places,  been  removed,  and 


Theory  and  Practice  117 

a  rail  placed  at  a  little  distance  within  the  wood  ;  but  the 
distance  is  so  small  that  the  original  outline  is  nearly  as 
distinct  as  if  the  fence  were  still  visible,  and  the  regular 
undulations  of  those  lines  give  an  artificial  appearance  to 
the  whole  scenery.- 

A  painter's  landscape  depends  upon  his  management 
of  light  and  shade :  if  these  be  too  smoothly  blended  with 
each  other,  the  picture  wants  force  ;  if  too  violently  con- 
trasted, it  is  called  hard.  The  light  and  shade  of  natural 
landscape  require  no  less  to  be  studied  than  that  of  paint- 
ing. The  shade  of  a  landscape  gardener  is  wood,  and  his 
lights  proceed  either  from  a  lawn,  from  water,  or  from 
buildings.  If  on  the  lawn  too  many  single  trees  be  scat- 
tered, the  effect  becomes  frittered,  broken,  and  diffuse ; 
on  the  contrary,  if  the  general  surface  of  the  lawn  be 
too  naked,  and  the  outline  of  the  woods  form  a  uniform 
heavy  boundary  between  the  lawn  and  the  horizon, 
the  eye  of  taste  will  discover  an  unpleasing  harshness 
in  the  composition  which  no  degree  of  beauty,  either  in 
the  shape  of  the  ground  or  in  the  outline  of  the  woods, 
can  entirely  counteract.  In  this  state  the  natural  land- 
scape, like  an  unfinished  picture,  will  appear  to  want  the 
last  touches  of  the  master  ;  this  would  be  remedied  on 
the  canvas,  in  proportion  as  the  picture  became  more 
highly  finished  ;  but  on  the  ground  it  can  only  be  ef- 
fected by  taking  away  many  trees  in  the  front  of  the  wood, 
leaving  some  few  individually  and  more  distinctly  sepa- 
rated from  the  rest :  this  will  give  the  finishing  touches 
to  the  outline,  where  no  other  defect  is  apparent. 

The  eye,  or  rather  the  mind,  is  never  long  delighted 
with  that  which  it  surveys  without  effort  at  a  single  glance, 
and  therefore  sees  without  exciting  curiosity  or  interest. 
It  is  not  the  vast  extent  of  lawn,  the  great  expanse  of 
water,  or  the  long  range  of  wood  that  yields  satisfaction  ; 


ii8         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

for  these,  if  shapeless,  or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  if  their 
exact  shape,  however  large,  be  too  apparent,  only  attract 
our  notice  by  the  space  they  occupy,  "  to  fill  that  space 
with  objects  of  beauty,  todelightthe  eye  after  it  has  been 
struck,  to  fix  the  attention  where  it  has  been  caught,  to 
prolong  astonishment  into  admiration,  are  purposes  not 
unworthy  of  the  greatest  designs." 

This  can  only  be  eflfected  by  intricacy,  the  due  me- 
dium between  uniformity  on  the  one  hand  and  confusion 
on  the  other;  which  is  produced  by  throwing  obstacles 
in  the  way  to  amuse  the  eye  and  to  retard  that  celerity 
of  vision,  so  natural  where  no  impediments  occur  to 
break  the  uniformity  of  objects.  Yet  while  the  hasty 
progress  of  the  eye  is  checked,  it  ought  not  to  be  ar- 
rested too  abruptly.  The  mind  requires  a  continuity, 
though  not  a  sameness ;  and  while  it  is  pleased  with 
succession  and  variety,  it  is  offended  by  sudden  contrast, 
which  destroys  the  unity  of  composition. 

There  is  a  small  clump  at  b  [Plate  xii],  which  is  of 
great  use  in  breaking  the  outline  of  the  wood  beyond 
it ;  and  there  is  a  dell  or  scar  in  the  ground  at  c  that 
may  also  be  planted  for  the  like  purpose.  It  is  a  very 
common  expedient  to  mend  an  outline  by  adding  new 
plantation  in  the  front  of  an  old  one  ;  but  although  the 
improver  may  plant  large  woods  with  a  view  to  future 
ages,  yet  something  appears  due  to  the  present  day.  If 
by  cutting  down  a  few  trees  in  the  front  of  a  large  wood 
the  shape  of  its  outline  may  immediately  be  improved 
in  a  better  manner  than  can  be  expected  from  a  solitary 
clump  a  century  hence,  it  is  surely  a  more  rational  sys- 
tem of  improvement  than  so  long  to  endure  a  patch, 
surrounded  by  an  unsightly  fence,  in  the  distant  hope  of 
effects  which  the  life  of  man  is  too  short  to  realise. 

There  is  a  part  of  the  wood  at  d  so  narrow  as  to  admit 


Theory  and  Practice 


the  light  between  the  stems  of  the  trees  ;  this  naturally 
suggests  the  idea  of  adding  new  plantation.  But  the 
horizon  is  already  uniformly  bounded  by  wood,  and 
the  mind  is  apt  to  affix  the  idea  of  such  boundary 
being  the  limit  of  the  park  as  strongly  as  if  the  pale 
itself  were  visible;  on  the  contrary,  the  ground  falling 
beyond  this  part  and  a  range  of  wood  sweeping  over  the 
brow  of  the  hill,  it  is  better  to  clear  away  some  of  the 
trees,  to  increase  the  apparent  extent  of  lawn.  Instead 
of  destroying  the  continuity  of  wood,  this  will  increase 
its  quantity  ;  because  the  tops  of  the  trees  being  partly 
seen  over  the  opening,  the  imagination  will  extend  the 
lawn  beyond  its  actual  boundary,  and  represent  it  as 
surrounded  by  the  same  chain  of  woods. 

I  have  often  heard  it  asserted,  as  a  general  maxim  in 
gardeningjthathillsshould  be  planted  and  valleys  cleared 
of  wood.  This  idea  perhaps  originated  and  ought  only 
to  be  implicitly  followed  in  a  flat  or  tame  country,  where 
the  hills  are  so  low  as  to  require  greater  height  by  planting, 
and  the  valleys  so  shallow  that  trees  would  hide  the  neigh- 
bouring hills :  but  whenever  the  hills  are  sufficiently  bold 
to  admit  of  ground  being  seen  between  large  trees  in 
the  valley  and  those  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  it  marks  so 
decided  a  degree  of  elevation  that  it  ought  sedulously  to 
be  preserved.  Instead,  therefore,  of  removing  the  trees 
in  the  valley,  at  e,  I  should  prefer  shewing  more  of  the 
lawn  above  them  by  clearing  away  some  of  the  wood  on 
the  knoll  at  f,  which  I  have  distinguished  by  the  pavilion 
shewn  in  Plate  xii:  such  a  building  would  have  many 
uses,  besides  acting  as  an  ornament  to  the  scenery, which 
seems  to  require  some  artificial  objects  to  appropriate 
the  woods  to  the  magnificence  of  place  ;  because  wood 
and  lawn  may  be  considered  as  the  natural  features  of 
Buckinghamshire. 


iio         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

The  Red  Book  of  Shardeloes  contains  a  minute  de- 
scription of  the  rides  made  in  the  woods,  with  the  reasons 
for  every  part  of  their  course  ;  but  as  this  subject  is  more 
amply  treated  in  my  remarks  on  Bulstrode,  the  following 
extract  is  accompanied  with  a  map,  on  which  the  course 
of  an  extensive  drive  is  minutely  described.  This  park 
must  be  acknowledged  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  Eng- 
land, yet  I  doubt  whether  Claude  himself  could  find,  in 
its  whole  extent,  a  single  station  from  whence  a  picture 
could  be  formed.  I  mention  this  as  a  proof  of  the  little 
affinity  between  pictures  and  scenes  in  nature. 

It  is  not  uncommon  to  conduct  a  drive  either  round 
a  park  or  into  the  adjoining  woods,  without  any  other 
consideration  than  its  length;  and  I  have  frequently  been 
carried  through  a  belt  of  plantation,  surrounding  a  place, 
without  one  remarkable  object  to  call  the  attention  from 
the  trees,  which  are  everywhere  mixed  in  the  same 
unvaried  manner. 

Although  the  verdure,  the  smoothness  of  the  surface, 
and  nature  of  the  soil  at  Bulstrode  are  such  as  to  make 
every  part  of  the  park  pleasant  to  drive  over,  yet  there 
is  a  propriety  in  marking  certain  lines  of  communication 
which  may  lead  from  one  interesting  spot  to  another ; 
and  though  a  road  of  approach  to  a  house  ought  not  to 
be  circuitous,  the  drive  is  necessarily  so;  yet  this  should 
be  under  some  restraint.  By  the  assistance  of  the  map 
[Plate  xiii],  I  shall  describe  in  a  note  the  course  of 
the  drive  at  Bulstrode ;  and  however  devious  it  may 
appear  on  paper,  it  will,  I  trust,  be  found  to  possess  such 
a  variety  as  few  drives  can  boast,  and  that  no  part  of  it 
is  suggested  without  sufficient  reasons  for  its  course. 

I  would  not  here  be  understood  to  infer  that  every 
park  can  boast  those  advantages  which  Bulstrode  pos- 
sesses, or  that  every  place  offisrs  sufficient  extent  and 


/ 


,.^^ 


Plate  XIII.     Map  of  Bulstrode 


Theory  and  Practice 


variety  for  such  a  drive  appropriated  to  pleasure  onlv  ; 
but  this  is  introduced  as  an  archetype  or  example,  from 
whence  certain  principles  are  reduced  to  practice.  Some 
of  my  observations,  in  the  course  of  this  description,  may 
appear  to  have  been  anticipated  by  Mr.  Whateley,  and 
if  I  may  occasionally  deliver  them  as  my  own  sentiments, 
1  hope  the  coincidence  in  opinion  with  so  respectable 
a  theorist  will  not  subject  me  to  the  imputation  of 
plagiarism. "^5 

Heathfield  Park  is  one  of  those  subjects  from  whence 
my  art  can  derive  little  credit  :  the  world  is  too  apt  to 
mistake  alteration  for  improvement,  and  to  applaud 
every  change,  although  no  higher  beauty  is  produced. 
The  character  of  this  park  is  strictly  in  harmony  with 
its  situation  ;  both  are  splendid  and  magnificent ;  yet  a 
degree  of  elegance  and  beauty  prevails,  which  is  rarely  to 
be  found  where  greatness  of  character  and  loftiness  of 
*  situation  are  predominant,  because  magnificence  is  not 
always  united  with  convenience,  nor  extent  of  prospects 
with  interesting  and  beautiful  scenery.  The  power  of 
art  can  have  but  little  influence  in  increasing  the  natural 
advantages  of  Heathfield  Park.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
improver  to  avail  himself  of  those  beauties  which  nature 
has  profusely  scattered,  and  by  leading  the  stranger  to 
the  most  pleasing  stations,  to  call  his  attention  to  those 
objects  which,  from  their  variety,  novelty,  contrast,  or 
combination,  are  most  likely  to  interest  and  delight  the 
mind.  On  this  foundation  ought  to  be  built  the  future 
improvement  of  Heathfield  Park ;  not  by  doing  violence 
to  its  native  genius,  but  by  sedulously  studying  its  true 
character  and  situation  :  certain  roads,  walks,  or  drives 
may  collect  the  scattered  beauties  of  the  place,  and  con- 
nect them  with  each  other  in  lines,  easy,  natural,  and 
graceful. 


122         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

A  common  error,  by  which  modern  improvers  are  apt 
to  be  misled,  arises  from  the  mistake  so  often  made  by 
adopting  extent  for  beauty.  Thus  the  longest  circuit  is 
frequently  preferred  to  that  which  is  most  interesting ; 
not  indeed  by  the  visitors,  but  by  the  fancied  improver 
of  a  place.  This,  I  apprehend,  was  the  origin,  and  is 
always  the  tedious  effect,  of  what  is  called  a  Belt ;  through 
which  the  stranger  is  conducted,  that  he  may  enjoy  the 
drive,  not  by  any  striking  points  of  view  or  variety  of 
scenery,  but  by  the  number  of  miles  over  which  he  has 
traced  its  course,  and  instead  of  leading  to  those  objects 
which  are  most  worthy  our  attention,  it  is  too  common 
to  find  the  drive  a  mere  track  round  the  utmost  verge 
of  the  park ;  and  if  any  pleasing  features  excite  our 
notice,  they  arise  rather  from  chance  than  design. 

To  avoid  this  popular  error,  therefore,  I  shall  en- 
deavour to  avail  myself  of  natural  beauties  in  this  drive, 
without  any  unnecessary  circuit  calculated  to  surprise  by 
its  extent.  I  shall  rather  select  those  points  of  view  which 
are  best  contrasted  with  each  other,  or  which  discover 
new  features,  or  the  same  under  different  circumstances 
of  foreground  ;  beguiling  the  length  of  the  way  by  a  suc- 
cession of  new  and  pleasing  objects. 

If  the  circuitous  drive  round  a  place  becomes  tedious 
by  its  monotony,  we  must  equally  avoid  too  great  same- 
ness or  confinement  in  any  road  which  is  to  be  made  a 
path  of  pleasure:  a  short  branch  from  the  principal  drive, 
although  it  meets  it  again  at  a  little  distance,  relieves  the 
mind  by  its  variety  and  stimulates  by  a  choice  between 
two  different  objects  ;  but  we  must  cautiously  avoid  con- 
fusion, lest  we  cut  a  wood  into  a  labyrinth.  The  princi- 
pal road  at  Heathfield  leads  towards  the  tower,  the  other 
is  no  less  interesting  where  it  bursts  out  on  one  of  those 
magnificent  landscapes  so  pleasing  in  nature,  yet  so  diffi- 


Theory  and  Practice 


cult  to  be  represented  in  painting;  because  quantity  and 
variety  are  apt  to  destroy  that  unity  of  composition  which 
is  expected  in  an  artificial  landscape :  for  it  is  hardly  pos- 
sible to  convey  an  adequate  and  distinct  idea  of  those 
numerous  objects  so  wonderfully  combined  in  this  ex- 
tensive view ;  the  house,  the  church,  the  lawns,  the  woods, 
the  bold  promontory  of  Beachy  Head,  and  the  distant 
plains  bounded  by  the  sea,  are  all  collected  in  one  splendid 
picture,  without  being  crowded  into  confusion. 

This  view  is  a  perfect  landscape,  while  that  from  the 
tower  is  rather  a  prospect.  It  is  of  such  a  nature  as  not  to 
be  well  represented  by  painting,  because  its  excellence 
depends  upon  a  state  of  the  atmosphere  which  is  very 
hostile  to  the  painter's  art.  An  extensive  prospect  is  most 
admired  when  the  distant  objects  are  most  clear  and  dis- 
tinct ;  but  the  painter  can  represent  his  distances  only  by 
a  certain  haziness  and  indistinctness,  which  is  termed 
aerial  perspective. 

In  the  woodland  counties,  such  as  Hertfordshire, 
Herefordshire,  Hampshire,  etc.,  it  often  happens  that 
the  most  beautiful  places  may  rather  be  formed  by  felling 
than  by  planting  trees  ;  but  the  effect  will  be  very  dif- 
ferent, whether  the  axe  be  committed  to  the  hand  of 
genius  or  the  power  of  avarice.  The  land  steward,  or 
the  timber-merchant,  would  mark  those  trees  which  have 
acquired  their  full  growth  and  are  fit  for  immediate  use, 
or  separate  those  which  he  deems  to  stand  too  near  to- 
gether, but  the  man  of  science  and  of  taste  will  search 
with  scrutinising  care  for  groups  and  combinations,  such 
as  his  memory  recalls  in  the  pictures  of  the  best  mas- 
ters ;  these  groups  he  will  studiously  leave  in  such  places 
as  will  best  display  their  varied  or  combined  forms.  He 
will  also  discover  beauties  in  a  tree  which  the  others  would 


124  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

condemn  for  its  decay  ;  he  will  rejoice  when  he  finds  two 
trees  whose  stems  have  long  grown  so  near  each  other 
that  their  branches  are  become  interwoven  ;  he  will  ex- 
amine the  outline  formed  by  the  combined  foliage  of 
many  trees  thus  collected  in  groups,  and  removing  others 
near  them,  he  will  give  ample  space  for  their  picturesque 
effect.  Sometimes  he  will  discover  an  aged  thorn  or  maple 
at  the  foot  of  a  venerable  oak;  these  he  will  respect,  not 
only  for  their  antiquity,  being  perhaps  coeval  with  the 
father  of  the  forest,  but  knowing  that  the  importance  of 
the  oak  is  comparatively  increased  by  the  neighbouring 
situation  of  these  subordinate  objects ;  this  will  some- 
times happen  when  young  trees  grow  near  old  ones, 
as  when  a  light  airy  ash  appears  to  rise  from  the  same 
root  with  an  oak  or  an  elm.  These  are  all  circumstances 
dependent  on  the  sportive  accidents  of  nature;  but  even 
where  art  has  interfered,  where  the  long  and  formal  line 
of  a  majestic  avenue  shall  be  submitted  to  his  decision, 
the  man  of  taste  will  pause,  and  not  always  break  their 
venerable  ranks,  for  his  hand  is  not  guided  by  the  lev- 
elling principles  or  sudden  innovations  of  modern  fash- 
ion ;  he  will  reverence  the  glory  of  former  ages,  while 
he  cherishes  and  admires  the  ornament  of  the  present, 
nor  will  he  neglect  to  foster  and  protect  the  tender  sap- 
ling, which  promises,  with  improving  beauty,  to  spread 
a  grateful  shade  for  future  "  tenants  of  the  soil." 

To  give,however,  such  general  rules  for  thinningwoods 
as  might  be  understood  by  those  who  have  never  atten- 
tively and  scientifically  considered  the  subject  would  be 
like  attempting  to  direct  a  man  who  had  never  used  a  pen- 
cil, to  imitate  the  groups  of  a  Claude  or  a  Poussin.''^ 

On  this  head  I  have  frequently  found  my  instructions 
opposed  and  my  reasons  unintelligible  to  thosewho  look 
at  a  wood  as  an  object  of  gain  ;  and  for  this  reason  I  am 


Theory  and  Practice  125 

not  sorry  to  have  discovered  some  arguments  in  favour 
of  my  system,  of  more  weight,  perhaps,  than  those  which 
relate  to  mere  taste  and  beauty  :  these  I  shall  beg  leave 
to  mention,  not  as  the  foundation  on  which  my  opinion 
is  built,  but  as  collateral  props  to  satisfy  those  who  re- 
quire such  support.  1st.  When  two  or  more  trees  have 
long  grown  very  near  each  other,  the  branches  form 
themselves  into  one  mass,  or  head  ;  and  if  any  part  be 
removed,  the  remaining  trees  will  be  more  exposed  to 
the  power  of  the  wind,  by  being  heavier  on  one  side, 
having  lost  their  balance.  2d.  If  trees  have  long  grown 
very  near  together,  it  will  be  impossible  to  take  up  the 
roots  of  one  without  injuring  those  of  another.  And 
lastly,  although  trees  at  equal  distances  may  grow  more 
erect  and  furnish  planks  for  the  use  of  the  navy,  yet 
not  less  valuable  to  the  shipbuilder  are  those  naturally 
crooked  branches,  or  knees,  which  support  the  decks 
or  form  the  ribs,  and  which  are  always  most  likely  to  be 
produced  from  the  outside  trees  of  woods  or  the  fan- 
tastic forms  which  arise  from  two  or  more  trees  having 
grown  very  near  each  other  in  the  same  wood,  or  in 
hedge-rows.  It  is  therefore  not  inconsistent  with  the 
considerations  of  profit  as  well  as  picturesque  effect  to 
plant  or  to  leave  trees  very  near  each  other,  and  not 
to  thin  them  in  the  usual  manner  without  caution. 

In  some  places  belonging  to  ancient  noble  families,  it 
is  not  uncommon  to  see  woods  of  vast  extent  intersected 
by  vistas  and  glades  in  many  directions  ;  this  is  particu- 
larly the  case  at  Burley  and  at  Cashiobury.  It  is  the 
property  of  a  straight  glade  or  vista  to  lead  the  eye  to 
the  extremity  of  a  wood,  without  attracting  the  attention 
to  its  depth. 

I  have  occasionally  been  required  to  fell  great  quan- 
tities of  timber,  from  other  motives  than  merely  to 


126  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

improve  the  landscape,  and  in  some  instances  this  work 
of  necessity  has  produced  the  most  fortunate  improve- 
ments. I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  some  woods  might 
be  increased  fivefold  in  apparent  quantity,  by  taking 
away  a  prodigious  number  of  trees,  which  are  really  lost 
to  view  ;  but  unless  such  necessity  existed,  there  is  more 
difficulty  and  temerity  in  suggesting  improvement  by 
cutting  down,  however  profitable,  and  however  suddenly 
the  effect  is  produced,  than  by  planting,  though  the  latter 
be  tedious  and  expensive. 

I  have  seldom  found  great  opposition  to  my  hints  for 
planting,  but  to  cutting  down  trees  innumerable  obstacles 
present  themselves  ;  as  if,  unmindful  of  their  value  and 
heedless  of  their  slow  growth,  I  should  advise  a  military 
abatis,  or  one  general  sweep,  denuding  the  face  of  a 
whole  country.  What  I  should  advise,  both  at  Burley 
and  at  Cashiobury,  would  be  to  open  some  large  areas 
within  the  woods,  to  produce  a  spacious  internal  lawn  of 
intricate  shape  and  irregular  surface,  preserving  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  detached  trees  or  groups  to  continue 
the  general  effect  of  one  great  mass  of  wood. 


Chapter  VI 

Fences  —  The  Boundary  —  The  Separation 


THAT  the  boundary-fence  of  a  place  should  be  con- 
cealed from  the  house  is  among  the  few  general 
principles  admitted  in  modern  gardening;  but  even  in 
this  instance,  want  of  precision  has  led  to  error.  The 
necessary  distinction  is  seldom  made  between  the  fence 
which  encloses  a  park  and  those  fences  which  are  adapted 
to  separate  and  protect  the  subdivisions  within  such  en- 
closure. For  the  concealment  of  the  boundary  various 
methods  have  been  adopted,  on  which  I  shall  make  some 
observations. 

1.  A  plantation  is  certainly  the  best  expedient  for 
hiding  the  pales ;  but  in  some  cases  it  will  also  hide  more 
than  is  required.  And  in  all  cases,  if  a  plantation  sur- 
round a  place  in  the  manner  commonly  practised  under 
the  name  of  a  belt,  it  becomes  a  boundary  scarce  less 
offensive  than  the  pale  itself.  The  mind  feels  a  certain 
disgust  under  a  sense  of  confinement  in  any  situation, 
however  beautiful;  as  Dr.  Johnson  has  forcibly  illus- 
trated, in  describing  the  feeling  of  Rasselas  in  the  happy 
valley  of  Abyssinia. 

2.  A  second  method  of  concealing  a  fence  is  by 
making  it  of  such  light  materials  as  to  render  it  nearly 
invisible ;  such  are  fences  made  of  slender  iron  and  wire 
painted  green. 

3.  A  third  method  is  sinking  the  fence  below  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  by  which  means  the  view  is  not 
impeded  and  the  continuity  of  lawn  is  well  preserved. 


128         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

Where  this  sunk  fence  or  fosse  is  adopted,  the  deception 
ought  to  be  complete,  but  this  cannot  be  where  grass- 
and  corn-lands  are  divided  by  such  a  fence.  If  it  is  used 
betwixt  one  lawn  and  another,  the  mind  acquiesces  in 
the  fraud  even  after  it  is  discovered,  so  long  as  the  fence 
itself  does  not  obtrude  on  the  sight.  We  must  therefore 
so  dispose  a  fosse  or  ha !  ha!  that  we  may  look  across  it 
and  not  along  it.  For  this  reason  a  sunk  fence  must 
be  straight  and  not  curving,  and  it  should  be  short,  else 
the  imaginary  freedom  is  dearly  bought  by  the  actual 
confinement,  since  nothing  is  so  difficult  to  pass  as 
a  deep  sunk  fence. 

4.  A  fourth  expedient  1  have  occasionally  adopted, 
and  which  (if  I  may  use  the  expression)  is  a  more  bold 
deception  than  a  sunk  fence,  viz.  a  light  hurdle  instead 
of  paling;  the  one  we  are  always  used  to  consider  as 
a  fixed  and  immoveable  fence  at  the  boundary  of  a  park 
or  lawn;  the  other  only  as  an  occasional  division  of  one 
part  from  the  other.  It  is  a  temporary  inconvenience, 
and  not  a  permanent  confinement. 

It  is  often  necessary  to  adopt  all  these  expedients  in 
the  boundaries  and  subdivisions  of  parks  ;  but  the  dis- 
gust excited  at  seeing  a  fence  may  be  indulged  too  far, 
if  in  all  cases  we  are  to  endeavour  at  concealment,  and 
therefore  the  various  situations  and  purposes  of  different 
sorts  of  fences  deserve  consideration. 

However  we  may  admire  natural  beauties,  we  ought 
always  to  recollect  that,  without  some  degree  of  art  and 
management  it  is  impossible  to  prevent  the  injury  which 
vegetation  itself  will  occasion:  the  smooth  bowling-green 
may  be  covered  by  weeds  in  a  month,  while  the  pastured 
ground  preserves  its  neatness  throughout  the  year.  There 
is  no  medium  between  the  keeping  of  art  and  of  nature. 
It  must  be  either  one  or  the  other,  art  or  nature ;  that  is. 


Theory  and  Practice  129 

either  mowed,  or  fed  by  cattle;  and  this  practical  part 
of  the  management  of  a  place  forms  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult points  of  the  professors  of  art,  because  the  line  of 
fence  which  separates  the  dressed  ground  from  the 
pasture  is  too  often  objectionable  ;  yet  there  is  not 
less  impropriety  in  admitting  cattle  to  feed  in  a  flower- 
garden  than  in  excluding  them  from  such  a  tract  of 
land  as  might  be  fed  with  advantage. 

At  Sheffield  Place,  the  beautiful  and  long  meadow  in 
Arno's  Vale  is  a  striking  example  of  what  I  have  men- 
tioned ;  because,  if  it  were  possible,  or  on  the  principle 
of  economy  advisable,  to  keep  all  this  ground  as  neatly 
rolled  and  mowed  as  the  lawn  near  the  house,  by  which 
it  would  always  appear  as  it  does  the  first  week  after  the 
hay  is  carried  off,  yet  I  contend  that  the  want  of  ani- 
mals and  animation  deprives  it  of  half  its  real  charms  ; 
and  although  many  beauties  must  be  relinquished  by  cur- 
tailing the  number  of  walks,  yet  others  may  be  obtained, 
and  the  whole  will  be  more  easily  kept  with  proper  neat- 
ness by  judicious  lines  of  demarcation  which  shall  sepa- 
rate the  grounds  to  be  fed  from  the  grounds  to  be  mown; 
or  rather  by  such  fences  as  shall,  on  the  one  hand,  pro- 
tect the  woods  from  the  encroachments  of  cattle,  and,  on 
the  other,  let  the  cattle  protect  the  grass-land  from  the 
encroachment  of  woods,  for  such  is  the  power  of  vege- 
tation at  Sheffield  Place  that  every  berry  soon  becomes 
a  bush  and  every  bush  a  tree. 

From  this  luxuriant  vegetation  the  natural  shape  of 
the  vale  is  obHterated,  the  gently  sloping  banks  are 
covered  with  wood,  and  the  narrow  glade  in  the  bottom 
is  choked  with  spreading  larches.  It  is  impossible  to 
describe  by  words,  and  without  a  map,  how  this  line  of 
demarcation  should  be  effected ;  but  I  am  sure  many 
acres  might  be  given  to  cattle  and  the  scenery  be  im- 


ijo         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

proved,  not  only  by  such  moving  objects,  but  also  by 
their  use  in  cropping  those  vagrant  branches  which  no 
art  could  watch  with  sufficient  care  and  attention.  It  is 
to  such  accidental  browsing  of  cattle  that  we  are  indebted 
for  those  magical  effects  of  light  and  shade  in  forest 
scenery,  which  art  in  vain  endeavours  to  imitate  in 
pleasure-grounds. 

Perhaps  the  brook  might  be  made  the  natural  boundary 
of  Arno's  Vale,  where  a  deep  channel  immediately  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  with  or  without  posts  and  rails,  would 
make  an  effectual  fence.  It  will  perhaps  be  objected  that 
a  walk  by  the  side  of  such  a  fence  would  be  intolerable, 
yet  surely  this  watercourse,  occasionally  filled  with  a  lively 
stream,  is  far  preferable  to  a  dry  channel ;  and  yet  the  only 
walk  from  the  house  at  present  is  by  the  side  of  what  may 
be  so  called :  and,  far  from  considering  this  a  defect,  I 
know  it  derives  much  of  its  interest  from  this  very  cir- 
cumstance. A  gravel  walk  is  an  artificial  convenience, 
and  that  it  should  be  protected  is  one  of  its  first  requi- 
sites :  therefore,  so  long  as  good  taste  and  good  sense 
shall  coincide,  the  eye  will  be  pleased  where  the  mind  is 
satisfied.  Indeed,  in  the  rage  for  destroying  all  that  ap- 
peared artificial  in  the  ancient  style  of  gardening,  I  have 
frequently  regretted  the  destruction  of  those  majestic  ter- 
races which  marked  the  precise  line  betwixt  nature  and  art. 

To  describe  the  various  sorts  of  fences  suitable  to 
various  purposes  would  exceed  the  limits  and  intentions 
of  this  work  :  every  county  has  its  peculiar  mode  of 
fencing,  both  in  the  construction  of  hedges  and  ditches, 
which  belong  rather  to  the  farmer  than  the  landscape 
gardener,  and  in  the  different  forms  and  materials  of 
pales,  rails,  hurdles,  gates,  etc. ;  my  object  is  rather  to 
describe  such  application  of  common  expedients  as  may 
have  some  degree  of  use  or  novelty. 


Theory  and  Practice 


^31 


Amongst  these  I  shall  first  mention  that,  instead  of  sur- 
rounding a  young  plantation  with  a  hedge  and  ditch,  with 
live  quick  or  thorns,  I  generally  recommend  as  many 
or  even  more  thorns  than  trees,  to  be  intermixed  in  the 
plantation  and  the  whole  to  be  fenced  with  posts  and  rails, 
more  or  less  neat,  according  to  the  situation.  But,  except 
near  the  house,  I  never  suppose  this  rail  to  continue  after 
the  trees  (with  the  aid  of  such  intermixed  thorns)  are  able 
to  protect  themselves  against  cattle ;  and  thus,  instead 
of  a  hard  marked  outline,  the  woods  will  acquire  those 
irregularities  which  we  observe  in  forest  scenery,  where 
in  some  few  instances  the  trees  are  choked  by  the  thorns, 
though  in  many  they  are  nursed  and  reared  by  their 
protection. 

In  the  course  of  this  work,  I  may  have  frequent  oc- 
casion to  mention  the  necessity  of  providing  a  fence  near 
the  house,  to  separate  the  dressed  lawn  from  the  park 
or  feeding-ground :  various  ingenious  devices  have  been 
contrived  to  reconcile,  with  neatness  and  comfort,  the 
practice  Introduced  by  Mr.  Brown's  followers,  of  setting 
a  house  In  a  grass-field. 

The  sunk  fence  or  ha  !  ha  !  in  some  places  answers 
the  purpose ;  in  others  a  light  fence  of  Iron  or  wire,  or 
even  a  wooden  rail,  has  been  used  with  good  effect.  If 
not  too  high ;  but  generally  near  all  fences  the  cattle 
make  a  dirty  path,  which.  Immediately  In  view  of  the 
windows,  is  unsightly ;  and  where  the  fence  is  higher  than 
the  eye,  as  It  must  be  against  deer,  the  landscape  seen 
through  its  bars  becomes  Intolerable.  After  various  at- 
tempts to  remedy  these  defects  by  any  expedient  that 
might  appear  natural,  I  have  at  length  boldly  had  re- 
course to  artificial  management,  by  raising  the  ground 
near  the  house  about  three  feet,  and  by  supporting  It 
with  a  wall  of  the  same  materials  as  the  house.    In 


132         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

addition  to  this,  an  iron  rail  on  the  top,  only  three  feet 
high,  becomes  a  sufficient  fence,  and  forms  a  sort  of 
terrace  in  front  of  the  house  making  an  avowed  separa- 
tion between  grass  kept  by  the  scythe  and  the  park  fed 
by  deer  or  other  cattle,  while  at  a  little  distance  it  forms 
a  base-line  or  deep  plinth,  which  gives  height  and  con- 
sequence to  the  house.  This  will,  I  know,  be  objected 
to  by  those  who  fancy  that  everything  without  the 
walls  of  a  house  should  be  natural ;  but  a  house  is  an 
artificial  object,  and,  to  a  certain  distance  around  the 
house,  art  may  be  avowed :  the  only  difference  of 
opinion  will  be,  where  shall  this  line  of  utility,  separat- 
ing art  from  nature,  commence?  Mr.  Brown  said,  at 
the  threshold  of  the  door,  yet  he  contradicted  himself 
when  he  made,  as  he  always  did,  another  invisible  line 
beyond  it.  On  the  contrary,  I  advise  that  it  be  near  the 
house,  though  not  quite  so  near:  and  that  the  line 
should  be  artificially  and  visibly  marked.^' 

When  Mr.  Brown  marked  the  outline  of  a  great 
wood  sweeping  across  hill  and  valley,  he  might  indulge 
his  partiality  for  a  serpentine  or  graceful  curve,  which 
had  been  then  newly  introduced  by  Hogarth's  idea 
respecting  the  line  of  beauty ;  but  it  may  be  observed 
that  a  perfectly  straight  line,  drawn  across  a  valley 
diagonally,  appears  to  the  eye  the  same  as  this  line  of 
fancied  beauty,  and  therefore,  in  many  cases,  the  line 
should  be  straight.  I  have  already  hinted  in  this  chap- 
ter that  the  fence  of  a  wood  or  plantation  should  be 
considered  as  merely  temporary,  that  is,  till  the  thorns 
planted  among  the  trees  can  supersede  its  use.  Where- 
fore, it  is  of  little  consequence  in  what  manner  a  hurdle, 
or  rough  posts  and  rails,  without  any  hedge  or  ditch, 
may  be  placed  :  a  straight  line  is  ever  the  shortest,  and 


Theory  and  Practice 


133 


I  have  often  preferred  it,  especially  as  I  know  that  a  few 
trees  or  bushes  at  each  end  of  such  a  line  will  prevent 
the  eye  from  looking  along  its  course. 

Sometimes  it  happens,  from  the  intermixture  of  pro- 
perty or  other  causes,  that  the  fence  is  obliged  to  make 
a  very  acute  angle  ;  this  may  occasionally  be  remedied 
by  another  line  of  fence  fitting  to  its  greatest  projection  ; 
and  as  this  same  principle  may  be  extended  to  roads, 
walks,  or  rivers,  I  shall  explain  it. 

The  sharp  elbow  or  projection  of  the  fence  a  [Fig. 
17]  ceases  to  be  offensive  if  another  fence  can  be  joined 


Fig.  17 


to  it,  as  at  b,  and  the  same  with  the  line  of  road  or 
walk ;  the  branch  obviates  the  defect. 

It  has  been  observed  by  the  adversaries  of  the  art  that 
exactly  the  same  line  will  serve  either  for  a  road  or  a 
river,  as  it  may  be  filled  with  gravel  or  with  water.  This 
ridicule  may  perhaps  be  deserved  by  those  engineers 
who  are  in  the  habit  of  making  navigable  canals  only, 
but  the  nice  observer  will  see  this  material  difference : 

The  banks  of  a  natural  river  are  never  equidistant ; 
the  water  in  some  places  will  spread  to  more  than  twice 
the  breadth  it  does  in  others.  This  pleasing  irregularity 
depends  on  the  shape  of  the  ground  through  which  it 
flows  :  a  river  seldom  proceeds  far  along  the  middle  of 
a  valley,  but  generally  keeps  on  one  side,  or  boldly 
stretches  across  to  the  other,  as  the  high  ground  resists 


134 


The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 


or  the  low  ground  invites  its  course.  These  circum- 
stances in  natural  rivers  should  be  carefully  imitated  in 
those  of  art,  and  not  only  the  effects,  but  even  the 
causes,  if  possible,  should  be  counterfeited,  especially 
in  the  form  of  the  shores  :  thus,  the  convex  side  of 
the  river  at  a  [in  Fig.  i8]  should  have  its  shores  con- 


vex or  steep ;  and  the  concave  side  of  the  river  at  b 
should  have  its  shores  concave  or  flat ;  because,  by 
this  means,  the  course  of  the  river  is  accounted  for. 

There  is  another  circumstance,  with  respect  to  lines, 
deserving  attention.  The  course  of  a  river  may  fre- 
quently shew  two  or  more  different  bends,  which  do 
not  so  intersect  each  other  as  to  impede  the  view  along 
it ;  and  these  may  be  increased  in  proportion  to  the 
breadth  of  the  river :  but  in  a  road,  or  a  walk,  espe- 
cially if  it  passes  through  a  wood  or  plantation,  a  sec- 
ond bend  should  never  be  visible.  The  degree  of 
curve  in  a  walk  or  road  will  therefore  depend  on  its 
width  ;  thus  looking  along  the  narrow  line  of  walk,  you 
will  not  see  the  second  bend  :   but  in  the  same  curve. 


Fig.  19. 


Theory  and  Practice 


3S 


if  the  road  be  broader,  we  should  naturally  wish  to  make 
the  curve  bolder  by  breaking  from  it,  according  to  the 
dotted  line  from  a  to  b  in  the  diagram  [Fig.  19]. 

When  two  walks  separate  from  each  other,  it  is  always 
desirable  to  have  them  diverge  in  different  directions, 
as  at  A  [in  Fig.  20],  rather  than  give  the  idea  of  reunit- 
ing, as  at  B. 


Fig.  20. 


Where  two  walks  join  each  other,  it  is  generally  bet- 
ter that  they  should  meet  at  right  angles,  as  at  c,  than 
to  leave  the  sharp  point,  as  in  the  acute  angle  at  d. 

The  most  natural  course  for  a  road  or  walk  is  along 
the  banks  of  a  lake  or  river,  yet  I  have  occasionally 
observed  great  beauty  in  the  separation  of  these  two 
lines ;  as  where  the  water  sweeps  to  the  left,  and  the 
road  to  the  right,  or  vice  versa.  The  true  effect  of  this 
circumstance  1  have  often  attempted  to  represent  on 
paper,  but  it  is  one  of  the  many  instances  in  which  the 
reality  and  the  picture  excite  different  sensations. 

This  chapter  might  have  included  every  necessary 
remark  relative  to  fences,  whether  attached  to  parks  or 
farms  ;  but  as  I  wish  to  enlarge  upon  the  distinction 
between  the  improvements  designed  for  ornament  and 
those  for  profit  or  gain,  I  shall  endeavour  to  explain 
these  different  objects,  as  they  appear  to  me  opposite 
in  their  views  and  distinct  in  their  characteristics.  Both 
are,  indeed,  subjects  of  cultivation  ;  but  the  cultivation 
in  the  one  is  husbandry,  and  in  the  other  decoration. 


Chapter  VII 

Farm  and  Park  Distinct  Objects  —  Beauty  and 
Profit  seldom  compatible 


THE  French  term  Ferme  ornee  was,  I  believe,  in- 
vented by  Mr.  Shenstone,  wlio  was  conscious  that 
the  English  word  "  Farm  "  would  not  convey  the  idea 
which  he  attempted  to  realise  in  the  scenery  of  the 
Leasowes.  That  much  celebrated  spot,  in  his  time,  con- 
sisted of  many  beautiful  small  fields,  connected  with 
each  other  by  walks  and  gates,  but  bearing  no  resemb- 
lance to  a  farm  as  a  subject  of  profit.  I  have  never 
walked  through  these  grounds  without  lamenting,  not 
only  the  misapplication  of  good  taste,  but  that  constant 
disappointment  which  the  benevolent  Shenstone  must 
have  experienced  in  attempting  to  unite  two  objects  so 
incompatible  as  ornament  and  profit.  Instead  of  sur- 
rounding his  house  with  such  a  quantity  of  ornamental 
lawn  or  park  only  as  might  be  consistent  with  the  size 
of  the  mansion  or  the  extent  of  the  property,  his  taste, 
rather  than  his  ambition,  led  him  to  ornament  the  whole 
of  his  estate,  vainly  hoping  that  he  might  retain  all  the 
advantages  of  a  farm,  blended  with  the  scenery  of  a  park. 
Thus  he  lived  under  the  continual  mortification  of  dis- 
appointed hope,  and,  with  a  mind  exquisitely  sensible, 
he  felt  equally  the  sneer  of  the  great  man,  at  the  magni- 
ficence of  his  attempt,  and  the  ridicule  of  the  farmer, 
at  the  misapplication  of  his  paternal  acres. 

Since  the  removal  of  courtyards  and  lofty  garden- 
walls  from  the  front  of  a  house,  the  true  substitute  for 


Theory  and  Practice  137 

the  ancient  magnificence  destroyed  is  the  more  cheerful 
landscape  of  modern  park  scenery  ;  and  although  its 
boundary  ought  in  no  case  to  be  conspicuous,  yet  its 
actual  dimensions  should  bear  some  proportion  to  the 
command  of  property  by  which  the  mansion  is  sup- 
ported. If  the  yeoman  destroys  his  farm  by  making 
what  is  called  a  Ferme  ornee^  he  will  absurdly  sacrifice 
his  income  to  his  pleasure,  but  the  country  gentleman 
can  only  ornament  his  place  by  separating  the  features 
of  farm  and  park;  they  are  so  totally  incongruous  as 
not  to  admit  of  any  union  but  at  the  expense  either  of 
beauty  or  profit.  The  following  comparative  view  will 
tend  to  confirm  this  assertion. 

The  chief  beauty  of  a  park  consists  in  uniform  verd- 
ure; undulating  lines  contrasting  with  each  other  in 
variety  of  forms  ;  trees  so  grouped  as  to  produce  light 
and  shade  to  display  the  varied  surface  of  the  ground ; 
and  an  undivided  range  of  pasture.  The  animals  fed  in 
such  a  park  appear  free  from  confinement,  at  liberty  to 
collect  their  food  from  the  rich  herbage  of  the  valley, 
and  to  range  uncontrolled  to  the  drier  soil  of  the  hills. 

The  farm,  on  the  contrary,  is  forever  changing  the 
colour  of  its  surface  in  motley  and  discordant  hues ;  it 
is  subdivided  by  straight  lines  of  fences.  The  trees  can 
only  be  ranged  in  formal  rows  along  the  hedges  ;  and 
these  the  farmer  claims  a  right  to  cut,  prune,  and  dis- 
figure. Instead  of  cattle  enlivening  the  scene  by  their 
peaceful  attitudes  or  sportive  gambols,  animals  are 
bending  beneath  the  yoke  or  closely  confined  to  fatten 
within  narrow  enclosures,  objects  of  profit,  not  of  beauty 
[Plate  xiv] . 

This  reasoning  may  be  further  exemplified  by  an 
extract  from  the  Red  Book  of  Antony.  The  shape  of 
the  ground  at  Antony  is  naturally  beautiful,  but  at- 


138         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

tention  to  the  farmer's  interest  has  almost  obliterated 
all  traces  of  its  original  form  ;  since  the  line  of  fence, 
which  the  farmer  deems  necessary  to  divide  arable  from 
pasture  land,  is  unfortunately  that  which,  of  all  others, 
tends  to  destroy  the  union  of  hill  and  valley.  It  is 
generally  placed  exactly  at  the  point  where  the  undu- 
lating surface  changes  from  convex  to  concave,  and  of 
course  is  the  most  offensive  of  all  intersecting  lines  ; 
for  it  will  be  found  that  a  line  of  fence,  following  the 
shape  of  the  ground,  or  falling  in  any  direction  from 
the  hill  to  the  valley,  although  it  may  offend  the  eye  as 
a  boundary,  yet  it  does  not  injure,  and,  in  some  in- 
stances, may  even  improve  the  beautiful  form  of  the 
surface.  No  great  improvement,  therefore,  can  be  ex- 
pected at  Antony,  until  almost  all  the  present  fences 
be  removed,  although  others  may  be  placed  in  more 
suitable  directions.   [Plate  xiv.] 

I  am  aware  that,  in  the  prevailing  rage  for  agricul- 
ture, it  is  unpopular  to  assert  that  a  farm  and  a  park 
may'  not  be  united  ;  but  after  various  efforts  to  blend 
the  two,  without  violation  of  good  taste,  I  am  convinced 
that  they  are  and  must  be  distinct  objects,  and  ought 
never  to  be  brought  together  in  the  same  point  of  view. 

To  guard  against  misrepresentation,  let  me  be  allowed 
to  say  each  may  fill  its  appropriate  station  in  a  gentle- 
man's estate;  we  do  not  wish  to  banish  the  nectarine 
from  our  desserts,  although  we  plant  out  the  wall  which 
protects  it;  nor  would  I  expunge  the  common  farm 
from  the  pleasures  of  the  country,  though  I  cannot  en- 
courage its  motley  hues  and  domestic  occupations  to 
disturb  the  repose  of  park  scenery.  It  is  the  union  not 
the  existence  of  beauty  and  profit,  of  laborious  exertion 
and  pleasurable  recreation,  against  which  I  would 
interpose  the  influence  of  my  art;  nor  let  the  fastidious 


Farm 


Park 
Plate  XIV.     Farm  and  Park 


Theory  and  Practice  139 

objector  condemn  the  effort  till  he  can  convince  the 
judgement  that,  without  violation  of  good  taste,  he  could 
introduce  the  dairy  and  the  pig-sty  (those  useful  append- 
ages of  rural  economy)  into  the  recesses  of  the  drawing- 
room  or  the  area  of  the  saloon.  The  difficulty  of  uniting 
a  park  and  a  farm  arises  from  this  material  circumstance, 
that  the  one  is  an  object  of  beauty,  the  other  of  profit. 
The  scenery  of  both  consists  of  ground,  trees,  water, 
and  cattle ;  but  these  are  very  differently  arranged. 
And  since  a  park  is  less  profitable  than  arable  land,  the 
more  we  can  diminish  I'^e  quantity  of  the  former,  pro- 
vided it  still  be  in  character  with  the  style  of  the  mansion, 
the  less  we  shall  regret  the  sacrifice  of  profit  to  beauty. 

The  shape  and  colour  of  corn-fields  and  the  straight 
lines  of  fences  are  so  totally  at  variance  with  all  ideas 
of  picturesque  beauty  that  I  shall  not  venture  to  suggest 
any  hints  on  the  subject  of  a  farm  as  an  ornament ;  yet 
I  think  there  might  be  a  distinction  made  between  the 
farm  of  a  tenant,  who  must  derive  benefit  from  every 
part  of  his  land,  and  that  occupied  by  a  gentleman  for 
the  purposes  of  amusement  or  experiment. 

It  is  usual  in  Hampshire,  and,  indeed,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  many  forests,  to  divide  the  enclosures  of 
a  farm  by  rows  of  copse-wood  and  timber,  from  ten  to 
twenty  yards  wide ;  at  a  little  distance  these  rows  appear 
united,  and  become  one  rich  mass  of  foliage.  This  kind 
of  subdivision  I  should  wish  to  be  generally  adopted  on 
experimental  farms.  The  advantages  of  such  plantations 
will  be  :  shady  and  pleasant  walks  through  the  farm  ;  to 
afford  shelter  to  corn  and  protect  the  cattle  which  are 
grazed  on  the  farm ;  to  give  the  whole,  at  a  distance,  the 
appearance  of  one  mass  of  wood;  to  make  an  admirable 
cover  for  game  ;  and,  lastly,  if  it  should  ever  hereafter 
be  thought  advisable  to  extend  the  lawn,  such  plantations 


140         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

will  furnish  ample  choice  of  handsome  trees  to  remain 
single  or  in  groups,  as  taste  or  judgement  shall  direct. 

In  some  counties  the  farms  consist  chiefly  of  grass- 
land, but  even  a  dairy-farm  must  be  subdivided  into 
small  enclosures ;  and  although  it  is  not  necessary  that 
a  lawn  near  a  mansion  should  be  fed  by  deer,  yet  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  it  should  have  the  appearance 
of  a  park,  and  not  that  of  a  farm  ;  because,  in  this  con- 
sists the  only  difference  betwixt  the  residence  of  a  landlord 
and  his  tenant,  the  gentleman  and  the  farmer  :  one  con- 
siders how  to  make  the  greatest  immediate  advantage  of 
his  land  ;  the  other  must,  in  some  cases,  give  up  the  idea 
of  profit  for  the  sake  of  that  beauty  which  is  derived 
from  an  air  of  liberty,  totally  inconsistent  with  those 
lines  of  confinement  and  subdivision  which  are  charac- 
teristic of  husbandry. 

Since  the  beauty  of  pleasure-ground  and  the  profit 
of  a  farm  are  incompatible,  it  is  the  business  of  taste 
and  prudence  so  to  disguise  the  latter  and  to  limit  the 
former  that  park  scenery  may  be  obtained  without 
much  waste  or  extravagance ;  but  I  disclaim  all  idea  of 
making  that  which  is  most  beautiful  also  most  profit- 
able :  a  ploughed  field  and  a  field  of  grass  are  as  dis- 
tinct objects  as  a  flower-garden  and  a  potato-ground. 
The  difference  between  a  farm  and  a  park  consists  not 
only  in  the  number  offences  and  subdivisions,  but  also 
in  the  management  of  the  lines  in  which  the  fences  of 
each  should  be  conducted.  The  farmer,  without  any 
attention  to  the  shape  of  the  ground,  puts  his  fences 
where  they  will  divide  the  uplands  from  the  meadows  ; 
and  in  subdividing  the  ground,  he  aims  only  at  square 
fields,  and  consequently  straight  lines,  avoiding  all  angles 
or  corners.  This  is  the  origin  of  planting  those  triangu- 
lar recesses  in  a  field  surrounded  by  wood,  which  the 


Theory  and  Practice  141 

farmer  deems  useless ;  but  which,  to  the  eye  of  taste, 
produce  effects  of  light  and  shade. 

There  is  no  mistake  so  common  as  that  of  filling  up 
a  recess  in  a  venerable  wood  with  a  miserable  patch  of 
young  plantation.  The  outline  of  a  wood  can  never  be 
too  boldly  indented  or  too  irregular ;  to  make  it  other- 
wise, by  cutting  off  the  projections  or  filling  up  the  hol- 
lows, shews  a  want  of  taste,  and  is  as  incongruous  as  it 
would  be  to  smooth  the  furrowed  bark  of  an  aged  oak. 

In  a  park  the  fences  cannot  be  too  few,  the  trees  too 
majestic,  or  the  views  too  unconfined.  In  a  farm  small 
enclosures  are  often  necessary  ;  the  mutilated  pollard  or 
the  yielding  willow,  in  the  farmer's  eye,  are  often  pre- 
ferable to  the  lofty  elm  or  spreading  oak,  whilst  a  full 
crop  of  grain  or  a  copious  swath  of  clover  is  a  more 
gladdening  prospect  than  all  the  splendid  scenery  of 
wood  and  lawn  from  the  windows  of  a  palace.  Small 
detached  farms,  adapted  to  useful  and  laborious  life,  un- 
mixed with  the  splendours  of  opulence,  but  supporters 
of  national  wealth,  are  indeed  objects  of  interest  in  every 
point  of  view;  they  want  not  the  adventitious  aid  of 
picturesque  effect  to  attract  peculiar  notice;  to  a  bene- 
volent mind  they  are  more  than  objects  of  beauty :  they 
are  blessings  to  society;  nor  is  it  incompatible  with 
the  pursuit  of  pleasure  sometimes  to  leave  the  bound- 
aries of  the  park,  and  watch  the  exertions  of  laudable 
industry  or  visit  the  cottages 

**  Where  cheerful  tenants  bless  their  yearly  toil." 

The  monopolist  only  can  contemplate  with  delight 
his  hundred  acres  of  wheat  in  a  single  enclosure  ;  such 
expanded  avarice  may  enrich  the  man,  but  will  impov- 
erish and  distress  and  (I  had  almost  added)  will  ulti- 
mately starve  mankind. 


Chapter  VIII 

Pleasure-Gf'ounds  —  Flower-Gardens  —  Greenhouse 
and  Conservatories  —  Various  Modes  of  attaching 
them  to  a  House 


IN  the  execution  of  my  profession,  I  have  often  ex- 
perienced great  difficulty  and  opposition  in  attempt- 
ing to  correct  the  false  and  mistaken  taste  for  placing 
a  large  house  in  a  naked  grass-field,  without  any  appar- 
ent line  of  separation  betwixt  the  ground  exposed 
to  cattle  and  the  ground  annexed  to  the  house,  which 
I  consider  as  peculiarly  under  the  management  of  art. 
This  line  of  separation  being  admitted,  advantage  may 
be  easily  taken  to  ornament  the  lawn  with  flowers  and 
shrubs,  and  to  attach  to  the  mansion  that  scene  of 
embellished  neatness,  usually  called  a  pleasure-ground. 
The  quantity  of  this  dressed  ground  was  formerly  very 
considerable.  The  royal  gardens  of  Versailles  or  those 
of  Kensington  Palace,  when  filled  with  company,  want 
no  other  animation  ;  but  a  large  extent  of  ground  with- 
out moving  objects,  however  neatly  kept,  is  but  a  mel- 
ancholy scene.  If  solitude  delight,  we  seek  it  rather 
in  the  covert  of  a  wood  or  the  sequestered  alcove  of 
a  flower-garden  than  in  the  open  lawn  of  an  extensive 
pleasure-ground. 

I  have  therefore  frequently  been  the  means  of  restor- 
ing acres  of  useless  garden  to  the  deer  or  sheep,  to  which 
they  more  properly  belong.  This  is  now  carrying  on 
with  admirable  effect  at  Bulstrode,  where  the  gardens 
of  every  kind  are  on  a  great  scale,  and  where,  from  the 


Theory  and  Practice 


43 


choice  and  variety  of  the  plants,  the  direction  of  the 
walks,  the  enrichment  of  art,  and  the  attention  to  every 
circumstance  of  elegance  and  magnificence,  the  pleasure- 
ground  is  perfect  as  a  whole,  while  its  several  parts  may 
furnish  models  of  the  following  different  characters  of 
taste  in  gardening :  the  ancient  garden,  the  American 
garden,  the  modern  terrace-walks,  and  the  flower-gar- 
den. The  latter  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  varied  and 
extensive  of  its  kind,  and  therefore  too  large  to  be  other- 
wise artificial  than  in  the  choice  of  its  flowers  and  the 
embellishments  of  art  in  its  ornaments. 

Flower-gardens  on  a  small  scale  may,  with  propriety, 
be  formal  and  artificial ;  but  in  all  cases  they  require 
neatness  and  attention.  On  this  subject  I  shall  tran- 
scribe the  following  passage  from  the  Red  Book  of 
Valley  Field.^' 

To  common  observers,  the  most  obvious  difference 
between  Mr.  Brown's  style  and  that  of  ancient  gardens 
was  the  change  from  straight  to  waving  or  serpentine 
lines.  Hence  many  of  his  followers  had  supposed  good 
taste  in  gardening  to  consist  in  avoiding  all  lines  that 
are  straight  or  parallel,  and  in  adopting  forms  which 
they  deem  more  consonant  to  nature,  without  consid- 
ering what  objects  were  natural  and  what  were  artificial. 

This  explanation  is  necessary  to  justify  the  plan  which 
I  recommended  for  the  canal  in  this  flower-garden 
[Plate  xv]  ;  for  while  I  should  condemn  a  long  straight 
line  of  water  in  an  open  park,  where  everything  else  is 
natural,  I  should  equally  object  to  a  meandering  canal 
or  walk,  by  the  side  of  a  longstraight  wall,  where  every- 
thing else  is  artificial. 

A  flower-garden  should  be  an  object  detached  and 
distinct  from  the  general  scenery  of  the  place ;  and, 
whether  large   or  small,  whether  varied   or  formal,   it 


144         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

ought  to  be  protected  from  hares  and  smaller  animals 
by  an  inner  fence  :  within  this  enclosure  rare  plants  of 
every  description  should  be  encouraged  and  a  provision 
made  of  soil  and  aspect  for  every  different  class.  Beds 
of  bog-earth  should  be  prepared  for  the  American  plants : 
the  aquatic  plants,  some  of  which  are  peculiarly  beau- 
tiful, should  grow  on  the  surface  or  near  the  edges  of 
water.  The  numerous  class  of  rock-plants  should  have 
beds  of  rugged  stone  provided  for  their  reception,  with- 
out the  affectation  of  such  stones  being  the  natural  pro- 
duction of  the  soil;  but,  above  all,  there  should  be  poles 
or  hoops  for  those  kinds  of  creeping  plants  which  spon- 
taneously form  themselves  into  graceful  festoons,  when 
encouraged  and  supported  by  art.  Yet,  with  all  these 
circumstances,  the  flower-garden,  except  where  it  is 
annexed  to  the  house,  should  not  be  visible  from  the 
roads  or  general  walks  about  the  place.  It  may  there- 
fore be  of  a  character  totally  different  from  the  rest  of 
the  scenery,  and  its  decorations  should  be  as  much 
those  of  art  as  of  nature. 

The  flower-garden  at  Nuneham,^^  without  being 
formal,  is  highly  enriched,  but  not  too  much  crowded 
with  seats,  temples,  statues,  vases,  or  other  ornaments, 
which,  being  works  of  art,  beautifully  harmonize  with 
that  profusion  of  flowers  and  curious  plants  which 
distinguish  the  flower-garden  from  natural  landscape, 
although  the  walks  are  not  in  straight  lines. 

But  at  Valley  Field,  where  the  flower-garden  is  in 
front  of  a  long  wall,  the  attempt  to  make  the  scene 
natural  would  be  affected ;  and,  therefore,  as  two  great 
sources  of  interest  in  a  place  are  variety  and  contrast, 
the  only  means  by  which  these  can  be  introduced  are  in 
this  flower-garden,  which,  as  a  separate  object,  becomes 
a  sort  of  episode  to  the  general  and  magnificent  scenery. 


Theory  and  Practice  145 

The  river  being  everywhere  else  a  lively  stream,  rat- 
tling and  foaming  over  a  shallow  bed  of  rock  or  gravel, 
a  greater  contrast  will  arise  from  a  smooth  expanse  of 
water  in  the  flower-garden:  to  produce  this  must  be 
a  work  of  art,  and,  therefore,  instead  of  leading  an  open 
channel  from  the  river  to  supply  it  or  making  it  appear 
a  natural  branch  of  that  river,  I  recommend  that  the 
water  should  pass  underground,  with  regulating  sluices 
or  shuttles  to  keep  it  always  at  the  same  height.  Thus 
the  canal  will  be  totally  detached  from  the  river  and 
become  a  distinct  object,  forming  the  leading  feature  of 
the  scene  to  which  it  belongs;  a  scene  purely  artificial, 
where  a  serpentine  canal  would  be  as  incongruous  as 
a  serpentine  garden-wall  or  a  serpentine  bridge;  and, 
strange  as  it  may  appear,  I  have  seen  such  absurdities 
introduced,  to  avoid  nature's  supposed  abhorrence  of 
a  straight  line.  The  banks  of  this  canal  or  fish-pond 
may  be  enriched  with  borders  of  curious  flowers,  and 
a  light  fence  of  green  laths  will  serve  to  train  such  as 
require  support,  while  it  gives  to  the  whole  an  air  of 
neatness  and  careful  attention. 

But,  as  the  ends  of  this  water  should  also  be  marked 
by  some  building  or  covered  seat,  I  have  supposed  the 
entrance  to  the  flower-garden  to  be  under  a  covered  pass- 
age of  hoops,  on  which  may  be  trained  various  sorts  of 
creeping  plants;  and  the  farther  end  may  be  decorated 
by  an  architectural  building,  which  I  suppose  to  con- 
sist of  a  covered  seat  between  two  aviaries.  It  will 
perhaps  be  objected  that  a  long  straight  walk  can  have 
little  variety ;  but  the  greatest  source  of  variety  in  a 
flower-garden  is  derived  from  the  selection  and  divers- 
ity of  its  shrubs  and  flowers. 

There  is  no  ornament  of  a  flower-garden  more  appro- 
priate than  a  conservatory  or  a  greenhouse,  where  the 


146         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

flower-garden  is  not  too  far  from  the  house;  but  amongst 
the  refinements  of  modern  luxury  may  be  reckoned 
that  of  attaching  a  greenhouse  to  some  room  in  the 
mansion,  a  fashion  with  which  I  have  so  often  been 
required  to  comply  that  it  may  not  be  improper,  in  this 
work,  to  make  ample  mention  of  the  various  methods 
by  which  it  has  been  effected  in  different  places. 

At  Bowood,  at  Wimpole,  at  Bulstrode,  at  Attingham, 
at  Dyrham  Park,  at  Caenwood,  at  Thoresby,  and 
some  other  large  houses  of  the  last  century,  green- 
houses were  added  to  conceal  offices  behind  them,  and 
they  either  became  a  wing  of  the  house  or  were  in  the 
same  style  of  architecture:  but  these  were  all  built  at  a 
period  when  only  orange-trees  and  myrtles  or  a  very  few 
other  greenhouse  plants  were  introduced,  and  no  light 
was  required  in  the  roof  of  such  buildings.  In  many  of 
them,  indeed,  the  piers  between  each  window  are  as  large 
as  the  windows.  Since  that  period  the  numerous  tribe 
of  geraniums,  ericas,  and  other  exotic  plants,  requiring 
more  light,  have  caused  a  very  material  alteration  in  the 
construction  of  the  greenhouse ;  and  perhaps  the  more  it 
resembles  the  shape  of  a  nurseryman's  stove,  the  better  it 
will  be  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  a  modern  greenhouse. 
Yet  such  an  appendage,  however  it  may  increase  its  in- 
terior comfort,  will  never  add  to  the  external  ornarhent 
of  a  house  of  regular  architecture :  it  is  therefore  generally 
more  advisable  to  make  the  greenhouse  in  the  flower- 
garden,  as  near  as  possible  to  without  forming  a  part 
of  the  mansion  ;  and  in  these  situations  great  advantage 
may  be  taken  of  treillage  ornaments  to  admit  light,  whilst 
it  disguises  the  ugly  shape  of  a  slanting  roof  of  glass. 

There  is  one  very  material  objection  to  a  greenhouse 
immediately  attached  to  a  room  constantly  inhabited, 
viz.  that  the  smell  and  damp  from  a  large  body  of  earth 


Theory  and  Practice  147 

in  the  beds  or  pots  is  often  more  powerful  than  the 
fragrance  of  the  plants;  therefore  the  conservatory  should 
always  be  separated  from  the  house  by  a  lobby  or  small 
anteroom.  But  the  greatest  objection  arises  from  its 
want  of  conformity  to  the  neighbouring  mansion,  since 
it  is  difficult  to  make  the  glass  roof  of  a  conservatory 
architectural,  whether  Grecian  or  Gothic.  An  arcade  is 
ill  adapted  to  the  purpose,  because,  by  the  form  of  an 
arch,  the  light  is  excluded  at  the  top,  where  it  is  most 
essential  in  a  greenhouse;  for  this  reason  the  flat  Gothic 
arch  of  Henry  the  Eighth  is  less  objectionable,  yet  in 
such  buildings  we  must  suppose  the  roof  to  have  been 
taken  away  to  make  room  for  glass;  of  this  kind  is  the 
conservatory  in  front  of  Rendlesham  House. 

In  the  adaptation  of  ancient  forms  to  modern  uses  and 
inventions,  we  are  often  under  the  necessity  of  deviating 
from  the  rules  of  true  Gothic.  Under  such  circum- 
stances it  is  perhaps  better  to  apply  old  expedients  to 
new  uses  than  to  invent  a  new  and  absurd  style  of  Gothic 
or  Grecian  architecture.  At  Plas-Newyd,  where  the 
house  partakes  of  a  Gothic  character,  I  suggested  the 
addition  of  a  greenhouse,  terminating  a  magnificent 
enfilade  through  alonglineof  principal  apartments.  The 
hint  for  this  model  is  taken  from  the  chapter-rooms  to 
some  of  our  cathedrals,  where  an  octagon  roof  is  sup- 
ported by  a  slender  pillar  in  the  middle,  and  if  this  were 
made  of  cast-iron,  supporting  the  ribs  of  a  roof  of  the  same 
material,  there  would  be  no  great  impropriety  in  filling 
the  interstices  with  glass,  while  the  side  window-frames 
might  be  removed  entirely  in  summer,  makinga  beautiful 
pavilion  at  that  season,  when,  the  plants  being  removed, 
a  greenhouse  is  generally  a  deserted  and  unsightly  object. 


Chapter  IX 


Landscape  Gardening  and  Painting  —  Pictures 
may  imitate  Nature^  but  Nature  is  not  to  copy 
Pictures 


AT  the  time  my  former  publication  was  in  the  press, 
the  art  of  landscape  gardening  was  attacked  by- 
two  gentlemen,  Mr.  Knight,^"  of  Herefordshire,  and 
Mr.  Price,^'  of  Shropshire ;  and  I  retarded  its  publica- 
tion till  1  could  take  some  notice  of  the  opinions  of 
these  formidable,  because  ingenious,  opponents.  Hav- 
ing since  been  consulted  on  subjects  of  importance  in 
those  two  counties,  I  willingly  availed  myself  of  oppor- 
tunities to  deliver  my  sentiments  as  particular  circum- 
stances occurred,  and  therefore,  with  permission  of  the 
respective  proprietors,  I  insert  the  following  observa- 
tions from  the  Red  Books  of  Sufton  Court,  in  Here- 
fordshire, and  Attingham,  in  Shropshire: 

My  opinion  concerning  the  improvement  of  Sufton 
Court  involving  many  principles  in  the  art  of  landscape 
gardening,  I  take  this  opportunity  of  justifying  my 
practice,  in  opposition  to  the  wild  theory  which  has 
lately  appeared  ;  and  shall  therefore  occasionally  allude 
to  this  new  system  when  it  bears  any  relation  to  our 
objects  at  Sufton  Court.  Having  already  published 
a  volume  on  the  subject  of  landscape  gardening,  it  will 
be  unnecessary  to  explain  the  motives  which  induced 
me  to  adopt  this  name  for  a  profession  as  distinct  from 
the  art  of  landscape  painting  as  it  is  from  the  art  of 
planting  cabbages  or  pruning  fruit-trees.    The  slight 


Theory  and  Practice  149 

and  often  gaudy  sketches  by  which  I  have  found  it  neces- 
sary to  elucidate  my  opinions  are  the  strongest  proofs 
that  I  do  not  profess  to  be  a  landscape  painter,  but  to 
represent  the  scenes  of  nature  in  her  various  hues  of 
blue  sky,  purple  mountains,  green  trees,  etc.,  which  are 
often  disgusting  to  the  eye  of  a  connoisseur  in  painting. 

The  best  painters  in  landscape  have  studied  in  Italy 
or  France,  where  the  verdure  of  England  is  unknown  : 
hence  arises  the  habit  acquired  by  the  connoisseur  of 
admiring  brown  tints  and  arid  foregrounds  in  the  pic- 
tures of  Claude  and  Poussin,  and  from  this  cause  he 
prefers  the  bistre  sketches  to  the  green  paintings  of 
Gainsborough.  One  of  our  best  landscape  painters 
studied  in  Ireland,  where  the  soil  is  not  so  yellow  as  in 
England ;  and  his  pictures,  however  beautiful  in  design 
and  composition,  are  always  cold  and  chalky. 

Autumn  is  the  favourite  season  of  study  for  landscape 
painters,  when  all  nature  verges  towards  decay,  when 
the  foliage  changes  its  vivid  green  to  brown  and  orange, 
and  the  lawns  put  on  their  russet  hue.  But  the  tints 
and  verdant  colouring  of  spring  and  summer  will  have 
superior  charms  to  those  who  delight  in  the  perfection 
of  nature,  without,  perhaps,  ever  considering  whether 
they  are  adapted  to  the  painter's  landscape. 

It  is  not  from  the  colouring  only  but  the  general 
composition  of  landscapes  that  the  painter  and  land- 
scape gardener  will  feel  the  difference  in  their  respect- 
ive arts  ;  and  although  each  may  occasionally  assist  the 
other,  yet  I  should  no  more  advise  the  latter,  in  laying 
out  the  scenery  of  a  place,  to  copy  the  confined  field 
of  vision  or  affect  the  careless  graces  of  Claude  or 
Poussin  than  I  should  recommend,  as  a  subject  proper 
for  a  landscape  painter,  the  formal  rows  or  quincunx  posi- 
tion of  trees  in  geometric  gardening.  It  has  been  wittily 


I50 


The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 


observed  that  "  the  works  of  nature  are  well  executed, 
but  in  a  bad  taste  "  ;  this,  I  suppose,  has  arisen  from 
the  propensity  of  good  taste  to  display  the  works  of 
nature  to  advantage,  but  it  does  not  hence  follow 
that  art  is  to  be  the  standard  for  nature's  imitation. 
Neither  does  it  disgrace  painting  to  assert  that  nature 
may  be  rendered  more  pleasing  than  the  finest  picture, 
since  the  perfection  of  painting  seldom  aims  at  exact 
or  individual  representation  of  nature.  A  panorama 
gives  a  more  natural  idea  of  sRips  at  sea  than  the  best 
picture  of  Vandervelde ;  but  it  has  little  merit  as  a 
painting,  because  it  too  nearly  resembles  the  original 
to  please  as  an  effort  of  imitative  art.  My  sketches,  if 
they  were  more  highly  finished,  would  be  a  sort  of 
panorama,  or  facsimile,  of  the  scenes  they  represent,  in 
which  little  effect  is  attempted  on  the  principle  of  com- 
position in  painting;  but  like  a  profile  shadow  or  sil- 
houette, they  may  please  as  portraits,  while  they  offend 
the  connoisseur  as  paintings.  The  art  I  profess  is  of 
a  higher  nature  than  that  of  painting,  and  is  thus  very 
aptly  described  by  a  French  author:  "//  est  a  la  poesie 
et  a  la  peinture,  ce  que  la  realite  est  a  la  description  et 
T  original  a  la  copied 

The  house  at  Sufton  Court  having  been  built  long 
before  I  had  the  honour  of  being  consulted,  its  aspects, 
situation,  and  general  arrangement  do  not  properly 
come  under  my  consideration.  Yet,  as  I  shall  sug- 
gest a  hint  for  altering  the  windows  in  the  drawing- 
room,  I  must  consider  the  different  landscapes  in  each 
direction.  The  views  towards  the  south  and  west  are 
extensive,  and,  under  certain  circumstances  of  light 
and  weather,  often  wonderfully  beautiful ;  but,  as  dis- 
tant prospects  depend  so  much  on  the  state  of  the 
atmosphere,  I  have  frequently  asserted  that  the  views 


Theory  AND  Practice  151 

from  a  house,  and  particularly  those  from  the  drawing- 
room,  ought  rather  to  consist  of  objects  which  evidently 
belong  to  the  place.  To  express  this  idea,  I  have  used 
the  word  appropriation,  by  which  I  mean  such  a  por- 
tion of  wood  and  lawn  as  may  be  supposed  to  belong 
to  the  proprietor  of  the  mansion,  occupied  by  himself, 
not  so  much  for  the  purposes  of  gain  as  of  pleasure 
and  convenience:  this,  of  course,  should  be  grass, 
whether  fed  by  deer,  by  sheep,  or  by  other  cattle,  and 
its  subdivisions,  if  there  be  any,  ought  not  to  be  per- 
manent. I  am  ready  to  allow  that  this  part  of  modern 
gardening  has  often  been  egregiously  mistaken  and 
absurdly  practised  ;  I  find  no  error  so  difficult  to  coun- 
teract as  the  general  propensity  for  extent,  without 
sufficient  attention  to  the  size,  style,  or  character  of  the 
house  or  of  the  surrounding  estate. 

Extent  and  beauty  have  ever  appeared  to  me  distinct 
objects  ;  and  a  small  place,  in  which  the  boundary  is 
not  obtrusive,  may  be  more  interesting  and  more  con- 
sonant to  elegance  and  convenience  than  a  large  tract 
of  land,  which  has  no  other  merit  than  that  it  consists 
of  many  hundred  acres  or  is  encompassed  by  a  pale  of 
many  miles  in  circuit,  while,  perhaps,  within  this  area, 
half  the  land  is  ploughed  in  succession. 

The  drawing-room,  at  present,  looks  towards  the 
south,  but  there  appear  to  be  several  reasons  for  alter- 
ing its  aspect :  1st,  because  the  hall  and  dining-room 
command  the  same  prospect,  but  more  advantageously  ; 
2d,  because  the  windows,  being  near  the  hall-door,  a 
carriage-road,  which  must  occasionally  be  dirty,  be- 
comes a  bad  foreground  ;  and,  lastly,  the  view  toward 
the  east  will  not  only  be  different  from  the  others,  but 
is  of  such  a  nature  as  to  appear  wholly  appropriate  to 
the   place,  and,  therefore,  in  strict  harmony  with  the 


152  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

quiet  home  scene  of  a  country  residence.  It  consists  of 
a  beautiful  lawn  or  valley,  having  its  opposite  bank 
richly  clothed  with  wood,  which  requires  very  little  as- 
sistance to  give  it  an  irregular  and  pleasing  outline, 
and  is  one  of  the  many  subjects  more  capable  of  de- 
lighting the  eye  in  nature  than  in  a  picture. 

It  has  been  laid  down,  by  a  recent  author  before 
named,  as  a  general  rule  for  improvement,  to  plant 
largely  and  cut  down  sparingly.  This  is  the  cautious 
advice  of  timidity  and  inexperience,  for,  in  some  situ- 
ations, improvement  may  be  effected  by  the  axe  rather 
than  by  the  spade,  of  which  Sufton  Court  furnishes  an 
instance :  the  trees  in  a  straight  line,  at  the  bottom  of 
the  hill,  have  in  vain  been  encumbered  by  young  trees, 
planted  with  a  view  of  breaking  their  formal  row,  while 
in  reality  they  produce  the  contrary  effect.  I  rather 
advise  boldly  taking  away  all  the  young  trees  and  part 
of  the  old  ones,  but  particularly  an  oak,  which  not  only 
hides  the  forked  stem  of  a  tree  behind,  but  from  its 
situation  depresses  the  other  trees  and  lessens  the  mag- 
nitude and  importance  both  of  the  hill  and  of  the 
grove  by  which  its  brow  is  covered. 

The  situation  of  Attingham  is  at  variance  with 
its  character,  since  it  is  impossible  to  annex  ideas  of 
grandeur  and  magnificence  to  a  mansion  with  little 
apparent  domain.  The  flat  lawn  between  the  highroad 
and  the  house,  although  very  extensive,  yet,  possessing 
no  variety  in  the  size  of  the  trees,  and  but  little  in  the 
shape  of  ground,  the  eye  is  deceived  in  its  real  distance. 

By  the  laws  of  perspective,  the  nearer  any  object  is 
to  the  eye,  the  larger  it  will  appear ;  also,  the  larger 
any  object  is,  the  nearer  it  will  appear  to  the  eye  :  con- 
sequently, the  magnitude  of  the  house  makes  it  appear 


Theory  and  Practice  153 

nearer  than  it  really  is,  there  being  no  intervening 
objects  to  divert  the  attention  or  to  act  as  a  scale 
and  assist  the  eye  in  judging  of  the  distance.  For  this 
reason  every  stranger  who  sees  this  house  from  the 
turnpike  road  would  describe  it  as  a  large  house  with 
very  little  ground  between  it  and  the  road.  The  first 
idea  of  improvement  would  be,  either  to  remove  the 
house  or  the  road ;  but  as  neither  of  these  expedients 
is  practicable,  we  must  have  recourse  to  art  to  do  away 
with  this  false  impression.  This  I  shall  consider  as  form- 
ing the  basis  of  the  alteration  proposed  at  Attingham. 

In  ancient  Gothic  structures,  where  lofty  walls  and 
various  courts  intervened  between  the  palace  and  the 
neighbouring  village,  there  was  sufficient  dignity  or 
seclusion,  without  that  apparent  extent  of  domain  which 
a  modern  mansion  requires  ;  but  since  the  restraint  of 
ancient  grandeur  has  given  place  to  modern  elegance, 
which  supposes  greater  ease  and  freedom,  the  situation 
of  a  house  in  the  country  is  more  or  less  defective,  in 
proportion  as  it  is  more  or  less  bounded  or  incommoded 
by  alien  property.  Thus  a  highroad,  a  ploughed  field, 
a  barn,  or  a  cottage  adjoining  a  large  house,  has  a 
tendency  to  lessen  its  importance  ;  and  hence  originates 
the  idea  of  extending  park,  lawn,  or  pleasure-grounds 
in  every  direction  from  the  house  ;  hence,  also,  arises 
the  disgust  we  feel  at  seeing  the  park-pales  and  grounds 
beyond,  when  they  are  so  near  or  so  conspicuous  as 
to  impress  the  mind  with  an  idea  of  not  belonging  to 
the  place. 

Perhaps  the  love  of  unity  may  contribute  to  the 
pleasure  we  feel  in  viewing  a  park  where  the  boundary 
is  well  concealed.  This  desire  of  hiding  the  boundary 
introduced  the  modern  practice  of  surrounding  almost 
every  park  with  a  narrow  plantation  or  belt,  which,  if 


154  1'he  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

consisting  of  trees  planted  at  the  same  time,  becomes 
little  better  than  a  mere  hedge-row,  and  is  deservedly 
rejected  by  every  man  of  taste ;  yet  there  are  many 
situations  where  a  plantation  becomes  the  natural  bound- 
ary of  a  park :  such  is  the  screen  of  wood  on  the  high- 
est ground  to  the  east  of  Attingham,  where  it  forms  a 
pleasing  outline  to  the  landscape,  without  exciting  a  wish 
to  know  whether  it  is  the  termination  of  the  property. 

In  consequence  of  the  apparent  want  of  extent  in  the 
park  or  lawn  at  Attingham,  it  was  suggested  to  add 
many  hundred  acres  of  land  to  the  east,  by  removing 
the  hedges  of  the  adjoining  fields.  This  would  have 
increased  the  real  without  extending  the  apparent  mag- 
nitude of  the  park  :  but  I  contend  that  oftentimes  it 
is  the  appearance  and  not  the  reality  of  extent  which 
is  necessary  to  satisfy  the  mind  ;  for  the  size  of  the  park 
has  little  reference  to  that  of  the  estate  of  the  proprie- 
tor. The  land  attached  to  a  villa,  near  a  city,  may  with 
propriety  be  surrounded  by  pales,  or  a  wall,  for  the 
sake  of  privacy  and  seclusion,  but  it  is  absurd  to  enclose 
more  of  a  distant  domain  than  is  necessary  for  the 
beauty  of  the  place  ;  besides,  if  this  park  or  lawn  had 
been  extended  a  mile  farther  to  the  east,  the  confine- 
ment to  the  south,  which  is  in  the  front  of  the  house, 
would  not  have  been  done  away,  and,  consequently, 
to  the  traveller  passing  the  road  the  apparent  extent 
would  not  have  been  increased  ;  and  without  some 
striking  or  beautiful  feature,  extent  alone  is  seldom 
interesting. 

If  large  trees,  river  scenery,  or  bold  inequality  of 
ground  can  be  included  by  enlarging  a  park,  they  are 
sufficient  motives  ;  but  views  of  distant  mountains, 
which  may  be  seen  as  well  from. the  highroad,  are  not 
features  that  justify  extensive  lawn  over  a  flat  surface.^'' 


Theory  and  Practice  155 

To  do  away  with  the  impression  of  confinement  at 
Attingham,  the  park  should  be  extended  across  the 
road,  and  thus  the  stranger  will  be  induced  to  believe 
he  passes  through  and  not  at  the  extremity  of  the  park. 
Secondly,  some  striking  and  interesting  features  should 
be  brought  into  notice,  such  as  the  junction  of  the  Sev- 
ern and  the Terne,  which  may  be  actually  effected  within 
the  limits  of  the  park ;  and  particularly  the  great  arch 
across  the  Terne,  of  which  no  adequate  advantage  is  at 
present  taken.  There  are,  also,  some  large  trees  and 
many  interesting  points  of  view,  which  well  deserve 
attention  in  a  plan  professing  to  increase  the  number 
of  beautiful  circumstances  rather  than  the  number  of 
acres  in  the  park. 

In  opposition  to  Mr.  Price's  idea,  that  all  improve- 
ment of  scenery  should   be  derived  from  the  works  of 


Fig.  21.  Scene  in  the  grounds  at  Attingham 

great  painters,  I  shall  observe  that  there  are,  at  pre- 
sent, very  near  the  house,  some  fragments  of  an  old  mill 
and  brick  arches  [see  Fig.  21]  which  make  a  charm- 
ing study  for  a  painter;  the  composition  is  not  unlike 
a  beautiful  picture  of  Ruisdale's,  at  Attingham,  which 
every  man  of  taste  must  admire :  of  this  scene,  as  it 
now  exists,   I   have  endeavoured  to  give  a  faint  idea. 


156  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

Among  the  trees  is  seen  part  of  the  colonnade  thatjoins 
the  east  wing  to  the  body  of  the  house  :  from  the  gen- 
eral character  of  this  scenery,  we  cannot  but  suppose  this 
to  be  a  fragment  of  some  ruined  Grecian  temple,  and  no 
part  of  a  modern  inhabited  palace.  Hence  it  is  evident 
that  the  mind  cannot  associate  the  ideas  of  elegance 
with  neglect  or  perfect  repair  and  neatness  with  ruin  and 
decay  :  such  objects,  therefore,  however  picturesque  in 
themselves,  are  incongruous  and  misplaced  if  near  such 
a  palace  as  Attingham. 

Another  mistake  of  the  admirers  of  painters'  land- 
scape is  the  difference  in  the  quantity  of  a  natural  and 
an  artificial  composition  :  the  finest  pictures  of  Claude 
(and  here  again  1  may  refer  to  a  picture  at  Atting- 
ham) seldom  consist  of  more  than  one  fifth  of  that  field 
of  vision  which  the  eye  can  with  ease  behold,  without 
any  motion  of  the  head,  viz.  about  20  degrees  out  of 
90  ;  and  we  may  further  add  that  without  moving  the 
body  our  field  of  vision  is  extended  to  180  degrees. 

Now  it  is  obvious  that  the  picture  of  Claude,  already 
mentioned,  which  is  between  four  and  five  feet  long, 
if  it  had  been  extended  to  20  or  30  feet,  would  not 
have  been  so  pleasing  a  composition  ;  because,  instead 
of  a  picture,  it  would  have  resembled  a  panorama.  This 
I  may  further  instance,  in  the  view  from  the  breakfast- 
room,  consisting  of  a  distant  range  of  mountains,  by 
far  too  long  for  any  picture.  Yet  a  small  part  of  this 
view  might  furnish  a  subject  for  the  painter,  by  sup- 
posing a  tree  to  form  the  foreground  of  the  landscape. 
Are  we  then  to  plant  such  a  tree,  or  a  succession  of 
such  trees,  to  divide  the  whole  field  of  vision  into  sep- 
arate landscapes  ?  and  would  not  such  an  attempt  at 
improvement  be  like  placing  five  or  six  pictures  of 
Claude  in  one  long  frame  ?  The  absurdity  of  the  idea 


Theory  and  Practice  157 

proves  the  futility  of  making  pictures  our  models  for 
natural  improvements :  however  I  may  respect  the 
works  of  the  great  masters  in  painting,  and  delight  to 
look  at  nature  with  a  painter's  eye,  yet  I  shall  never 
be  induced  to  believe  that  "  the  best  landscape  painter 
would  be  the  best  landscape  gardener."  ^^ 

The  River  Terne,  being  liable  to  floods  from  every 
heavy  shower  of  rain  which  falls  upon  the  neighbour- 
ing hills,  has  formed  a  number  of  different  channels 
and  islands  :  some  of  these  channels  are  dry  when  the 
water  is  low,  and  some  of  the  islands  are  covered  when 
the  water  is  high.  These  irriguous  appearances  have 
charms  in  the  eye  of  a  landscape  painter,  who,  from 
some  detached  parts,  might  select  a  study  for  a  fore- 
ground, at  a  happy  moment  when  the  water  is  neither 
too  high  nor  too  low.  But  the  landscape  gardener  has 
a  different  object  to  effect ;  he  must  secure  a  constant 
and  permanent  display  of  water,  which  may  be  seen  at 
a  distance,  and  which  shall  add  brilliancy  and  grandeur 
to  the  character  of  the  scenery:  it  is  not  an  occasionally 
meandering  brook  that  such  a  palace  or  such  a  bridge 
requires,  but  it  is  an  ample  river,  majestically  flowing 
through  the  park,  and  spreading  cheerfulness  on  all 
around  it. 

Mr.  Price  has  written  an  essay  to  describe  the  prac- 
tical manner  of  finishing  the  banks  of  artificial  water, 
but  I  confess,  after  reading  it  with  much  attention, 
I  despair  of  making  any  practitioner  comprehend  his 
meaning ;  indeed,  he  confesses  that  no  workman  can 
be  trusted  to  execute  his  plans.  It  is  very  true  that 
large  pieces  of  water  may  be  made  too  trim  and  neat 
about  the  edges,  and  that  often,  in  Mr.  Brown's  works, 
the  plantations  are  not  brought  near  enough  to  the 
water ;  but  if  the  banks  are  finished  smoothly  at  first, 


158  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

the  treading  of  cattle  will  soon  give  them  all  the  irreg- 
ularity they  require  ;  and  with  respect  to  plantations, 
we  must  always  recollect  that  no  young  trees  can  be 
planted  without  fences,  and  every  fence  near  the  water 
is  doubled  by  reflection ;  consequently,  all  rules  for 
creating  bushes  to  enrich  the  banks  are  nugatory,  ex- 
cept where  cattle  are  excluded. 

The  difficulty  of  clothing  the  banks  of  artificial 
water  has  been  a  source  of  complaint  made  against 
Mr.  Brown,  for  having  left  them  bare  and  bald ;  but 
the  river  at  Attingham  will  be  sufficiently  enriched 
by  the  few  trees  already  growing  on  its  margin,  and  by 
the  plantations  proposed  on  the  island. 

There  is  a  part  of  the  River  Terne,  above  the  house, 
where  both  its  banks  are  richly  clothed  with  alders, 
and  every  person  of  discernment  must  admire  the 
beauty  of  this  scene,  but  if  the  same  were  continued 
quite  to  the  bridge  the  river  would  be  invisible  from  the 
house  and  from  every  part  of  the  park  :  how,  then,  is  it 
possible  that  the  banks  of  water  should  everywhere  be 
covered  with  wood  ?  I  contend  that  a  broad  ample 
channel,  in  proportion  to  the  bridge,  will  be  far  more  in 
character  with  the  style  of  the  house  and  the  bridge 
than  the  more  intricate,  which,  on  paper,  is  perhaps 
more  picturesque.  If  it  is  ridiculous  to  imitate  nature 
badly  in  a  picture,  how  much  more  ridiculous  will  it 
appear  to  imitate  a  picture  badly  in  nature ;  an  imita- 
tion which,  after  all,  must  be  left  for  half  a  century, 
to  be  finished  by  the  slow  process  of  "  neglect  and  ac- 
cident." 

The  water  at  Attingham  having  been  completed, 
and  a  new  channel  made  to  connect  the  River  Terne 
with  the  Severn,  the  improvement  is  obvious  to  every 
person  who  travels  the  great  road  to  Shrewsbury  :  it  is 


Theory  and  Practice  159 

therefore  needless  to  elucidate  these  observations  by 
any  views  of  the  place,  especially  as  painting  can  give 
but  an  imperfect  idea  of  the  situation  commanding 
that  extensive  range  of  hills  which  separates  England 
from  Wales. 


Chapter  X 


Ancient  and  Modern  Gardening — Change  of  Style 
— Art  and  Nature  considered 


IT  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  into  a  minute  history 
of  gardening,  or,  pursuing  the  course  of  some  other 
writers,  to  trace  back  the  gradual  progress  of  the  art  from 
Brown  to  Kent,  from  Kent  to  Le  Notre,  from  him  to  the 
ItaHans,  the  Romans,  the  Grecians,  and,  ultimately,  to 
Adam,  who  was  "  the  first  gardener  " ;  but  I  shall  confine 
myself  to  a  few  observations  on  the  change  in  the  fashion 
of  gardens,  to  shew  how  much  of  each  different  style 
may  be  preserved  or  rejected  with  advantage;  and  lest 
it  should  appear  to  some  readers  that  my  allusions  are 
too  frequent  to  the  late  theoretical  writers  on  landscape 
gardening,  it  is  necessary  to  observe  that  many  of  the 
manuscripts  whence  I  now  transcribe  were  written  long 
before  Mr.  Knight's  and  Mr.  Price's  works  appeared ;  of 
course  the  allusions  relate  to  other  authors  on  the  sub- 
ject, whose  sentiments  these  gentlemen  seem  to  have 
taken  up  without  acknowledging  that  they  had  ever 
read  them. 

It  may  not  be  uninteresting  here  to  mention  a  few 
of  the  authors  who  have  written  on  gardening,  especially 
as  the  works  of  some  are  become  scarce,  and  are  not 
generally  known. 

I  scarcely  need  mention  the  late  Horace  Walpole,  who, 
in  his  lively  and  ingenious  manner,  has  given  both  the 
history  and  the  rules  of  the  art  better  than  any  other 
theorist. 


Theory  and  Practice  i6i 

The  history  of  gardening  is  very  learnedly  discussed, 
in  a  brief  inquiry  into  the  knowledge  the  ancients  pos- 
sessed of  the  art,  by  Dr.  Faulkner;  and  the  same  sub- 
ject is  more  lightly  but  not  less  correctly  or  elegantly 
treated  by  my  late  ingenious  friend,  Daniel  Malthus, 
Esq.,  in  a  preface  to  his  translation  of  "  D'Ermenonville 
de  la  Composition  des  Paysages." 

Every  person  the  least  interested  in  this  study  must 
have  read  the  beautiful  Poems  of  Mason,  and  De 
Lisle,  the  "Oriental  Gardening"  of  Sir  William  Cham- 
bers, and  the  "Observations  on  Modern  Gardening," 
by  Mr.  Whately;  but,  perhaps,  few  have  seen  that 
elaborate  performance,  in  five  volumes  quarto,  published 
in  German  and  also  in  French, under  thetitleof"Theorie 
de  I'Art  des  Jardins,"  by  M.  Hirschfeld,  a  work  in 
which  are  collected  extracts  from  almost  every  book,  in 
every  European  language,  that  has  any  reference  to  the 
scenery  of  nature  or  to  the  art  of  landscape  gardening.^'* 

When  gardening  was  conducted  by  the  geometric 
principles  of  the  school  of  Le  Notre,  the  perfection  of 
planting  was  deemed  to  consist  in  straight  lines  of  trees, 
or  regular  corresponding  forms  of  plantation ;  and  as 
the  effect  of  this  style  of  gardening  greatly  depended  on 
a  level  surface  of  ground,  we  often  find  that  prodigious 
labour  was  employed  to  remove  those  inequalities 
which  nature  opposed  to  this  ill-judging  taste. 

At  Wimpole  the  natural  shape  of  the  surface  seemed 
to  invite  this  fashion  for  geometric  forms;  the  ground 
was  covered  in  every  direction  with  trees  in  straight 
lines,  circles,  squares,  triangles,  and  in  almost  every 
mathematical  figure.  These  had  acquired  the  growth  of 
a  century  when  the  taste  of  gardening  changed,  and  as 
every  absurd  fashion  is  apt  to  run  from  one  extreme  to 


i62  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

another,  the  world  was  then  told  that  "  Nature  abhorred 
a  straight  line";  that  perfection  in  gardening  consisted 
in  waving  lines;  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  obliterate 
every  trace  of  artificial  interference.  And  now  many 
a  lofty  tree,  the  pride  and  glory  of  our  ancient  palaces, 
was  rooted  up,  because  it  stood  on  the  same  line  with  its 
fellows  and  contemporaries;  and  because  these  ranks  of 
sturdy  veterans  could  not,^^  ]\y^Q  ^  regiment  of  soldiers, 
be  marched  into  new  shapes,  according  to  the  new  system 
of  tactics,  they  were  unmercifully  cut  down  ;  not  to  dis- 
play beautiful  scenery  behind  them,  but  merely  to  break 
theirranksrwhileafew  were  spared  which  could  be  formed 
into  platoons:  —  this  was  called  clumping  an  avenue. 

The  position  of  all  the  large  trees  on  the  plain  near 
the  house  at  Wimpole  shews  the  influence  of  fashion 
in  these  different  styles  ;  the  original  lines  may  be  easily 
traced  by  the  trees  which  remain,  and  the  later  formed 
clumps  are  scattered  about,  like  the  ghosts  of  former 
avenues,  or  monstrous  shapes  which  could  not  be  sub- 
dued. 

One  great  advantage  of  Wimpole  arises  from  its 
comparative  beauty,  or  the  contrast  between  the  place 
and  its  environs.  The  counties  of  Cambridge  and 
Huntingdon  consist  generally  of  flat  ground,  while  the 
hills  are  open  corn-fields  thinly  intersected  by  hedges. 
But  Wimpole  abounds  in  beautiful  shapes  of  ground 
and  is  richly  clothed  with  wood ;  it  is,  therefore,  like  a 
flower  in  the  desert,  beautiful  in  itself,  but  more  beau- 
tiful by  Its  situation.  Yet  no  idea  of  this  beauty  can  be 
formed  from  the  approach  to  the  house,  because  the 
plain  is  everywhere  covered  with  lofty  trees  which  hide 
not  only  the  inequalities  of  the  ground,  but  also  the 
depth  of  wood  in  every  direction  ;  and  although  the 
original  straight  lines  of  the  trees  have  been  partially 


Theory  and  Practice  163 

broken,  the  intervals  shew  none  of  the  varied  scenery 
beyond.  I  do  not,  therefore,  hesitate  to  say  that,  by 
judiciously  removing  some  hundred  trees,  the  place 
would  be  made  to  appear  more  wooded  :  for  it  fre- 
quently happens  that  a  branch  near  the  eye  may  hide 
a  group  of  twenty  trees,  or  a  single  tree  conceal  a  whole 
grove. 

In  thus  recommending  the  liberal  use  of  the  axe, 
I  hope  I  shall  not  be  deemed  an  advocate  for  that  bare 
and  bald  system  of  gardening  which  has  been  so  justly 
ridiculed.  I  do  not  profess  to  follow  either  Le  Notre 
or  Brown,  but,  selecting  beauties  from  the  style  of  each, 
to  adopt  so  much  of  the  grandeur  of  the  former  as  may 
accord  with  a  palace  and  so  much  of  the  grace  of  the 
latter  as  may  call  forth  the  charms  of  natural  landscape. 
Each  has  its  proper  situation  ;  and  good  taste  will  make 
fashion  subservient  to  good  sense. 

The  modern  rage  for  natural  landscape  has  fre- 
quently carried  its  admirers  beyond  the  true  limits  of 
improvement,  the  first  object  of  which  ought  to  be 
convenience,  and  the  next  picturesque  beauty. 

My  taste  may,  perhaps,  be  arraigned  for  asserting 
that  the  straight  terrace  at  the  Hasells  ought  not  to 
be  disturbed  :  although  it  is  a  remnant  of  geometric 
gardening  of  the  last  century,  yet  it  is  an  object  of  such 
comfort  and  convenience  that  it  would  be  unpardon- 
able to  destroy  it  for  no  other  reason  than  because  a 
straight  walk  is  out  of  fashion  ;  this  would  be  acknow- 
ledging (what  I  protest  against)  that  the  art  of  landscape 
gardening  ought  to  be  under  the  dominion  of  fashion. 

If  this  terrace  were  constantly  an  object  of  view,  or 
very  materially  offensive  to  the  general  scenery  of  the 
place,  its  linear  direction  might  cut  the  composition 


164  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

and  destroy  its  effect  as  a  natural  landscape  :  in  its 
present  situation  it  is  merely  a  foreground  or  frame 
to  a  pleasing  picture,  and  the  view  from  hence  is  so 
fine,  so  varied,  and  so  interesting  that  the  spectator 
must  be  fastidious  indeed  who  could  turn  away  dis- 
gusted, because  it  is  seen  over  a  dipt  hedge,  or  with 
a  broad  flat  walk  in  its  foreground.  A  beautiful  scene 
will  always  be  beautiful,  whether  we  view  it  from  an 
alcove,  a  window,  or  a  formal  terrace:  and  the  latter, 
in  the  height  of  summer,  may  sometimes  answer  the 
purpose  of  an  additional  room  or  gallery  when  there 
is  much  company,  who  delight  to  saunter  on  such  an 
esplanade ;  while  the  intricacies  of  a  winding  path  are 
better  calculated  for  a  solitary  walk. 

The  ancient  dignity  of  character  in  the  house  at 
Cobham  would  be  violated  by  the  too  near  intrusion 
of  that  gay  prettiness  which  generally  accompanies  a 
garden-walk;  yet  convenience  and  comfort  require  such 
a  walk  at  no  great  distance  from  the  house. ^^  I  shall, 
perhaps,  astonish  some  of  the  improvers  in  modern 
serpentine  gardening  by  declaring  that,  as  an  appendage 
to  this  ancient  mansion,  I  would  prefer  the  broad  and 
stately  mall  along  a  straight  line  of  terrace  to  their  too 
frequently  repeated  waving  line  of  beauty. 

This  sort  of  walk  may,  1  think,  be  still  further  en- 
couraged, where  it  already  in  some  degree  exists,  to 
the  north  of  the  kitchen-garden,  which,  falling  from 
the  eye,  might  easily  be  concealed  from  the  park  by  a 
shrubbery  kept  low  ;  not  to  intercept  the  view  towards 
the  opposite  bank  in  the  park,  while  it  would  give  an 
imaginary  increase  of  depth  to  the  vale  beneath.  And 
to  remove  the  objection  of  returning  by  the  same  walk, 
a  second  terrace  might  be  carried  still  higher  on  the 
bank,  and  by  the  style  and  accompaniment  of  its  planta- 


Theory  and  Practice  165 

tion,  all  sameness  would  easily  be  obviated,  perhaps, 
by  making  one  of  them  a  winter  walk,  planted  chiefly 
with  evergreens  and  shrubs.  To  justify  my  opinion  it 
is  necessary  to  guard  against  a  misconstruction  of  what 
I  have  advanced,  lest  I  maybe  accused  of  reviving  the 
old  taste  of  gardening.  I  do  not  recommend  the  ter- 
race as  an  object  of  beauty  in  all  cases,  but  of  conven- 
ience ;  for  the  same  reason  that  I  advise  the  proximity 
of  a  kitchen-garden,  provided  the  principal  apartments 
do  not  look  upon  either. 

Our  ancestors  were  so  apt  to  be  guided  by  utility 
that  they  at  length  imagined  it  was  in  all  cases  a  sub- 
stitute for  beauty ;  and  thus  we  frequently  see  ancient 
houses  surrounded  not  only  by  terraces,  avenues,  and 
fish-ponds,  but  even  stables  and  the  meanest  offices 
formed  a  part  of  the  view  from  the  windows  of  their 
principal  rooms.  I  am  far  from  recommending  a  return 
to  these  absurdities  ;  yet,  in  the  rage  for  picturesque 
beauty,  let  us  remember  that  the  landscape  holds  an 
inferior  rank  to  the  historical  picture  :  one  represents 
nature,  the  other  relates  to  man  in  a  state  of  society.  If 
we  banish  winter  comforts  from  the  country-seats  of  our 
nobility,  we  shall  also  banish  their  inhabitants,  who  gen- 
erally reside  there  more  in  winter  than  in  summer;  and 
there  is  surely  no  object  of  greater  comfort  and  utility 
belonging  to  a  garden  and  a  country  mansion,  than  a 
dry  spacious  walk  for  winter,  sheltered  by  such  trees  as 
preserve  their  clothing,  while  all  other  plants  are  desti- 
tute of  foliage. 

I  will  add  the  opinion  of  a  very  able  commentator, 
who,  mentioning  "this  self-evident  proposition,  that 
a  rural  scene  in  reality  and  a  rural  scene  on  canvas  are 
not  precisely  one  and  the  same  thing,"  says,  "  that  point 
in  which  they  differ  here  is  not  itself  without  a  guiding 


i66         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

principle:  utility  sets  up  her  claim  and  declares  that, 
however  concurrent  the  genuine  beauty  of  nature  and 
picture  may  be,  the  garden  scene  is  hers,  and  must  be 
rendered  conformable  to  the  purposes  of  human  life ; 
if  to  these  every  consonant  charm  of  painting  be 
added,  she  is  pleased;  but  by  no  means  satisfied,  if 
that  which  is  convertible  to  use  be  given  absolutely 
to  wildness."  " 

The  natural  situation  of  Burley  differs  from  that  of 
every  other  large  place  which  has  fallen  under  my  con- 
sideration. To  say  that  the  house  stands  on  a  lofty  hill 
would  be  giving  a  very  imperfect  idea  of  its  situation ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  ought  rather  to  be  described  as  a 
magnificent  palace,  built  on  the  extremity  of  a  vast  plain, 
or,  what  is  called  by  geographers,  a  table  mountain,  from 
the  brow  of  which  it  boldly  commands  an  assemblage 
of  wood,  water,  lawn,  and  distant  country,  spread  mag- 
nificently at  its  base. 

The  view  from  the  principal  suite  of  apartments,  how- 
ever rich  and  varied  in  itself,  becomes  much  more  inter- 
esting by  the  power  of  contrast,  because  the  great  plain 
to  the  north  affords  no  promise  of  such  views,  and,  there- 
fore, the  surprise  occasioned  by  this  unexpected  scen- 
ery, is  a  subject  worthy  the  attention  of  the  improver: 
the  effects  of  surprise  are  seldom  to  be  produced  by 
art,  and  those  who  attempt  to  excite  it  by  novelty  or 
contrast  are  in  danger  of  falling  into  puerile  conceits. ^^ 
But  where,  as  in  the  present  instance,  much  of  the  nat- 
ural sublime  exists,  this  effect  should  be  increased  by 
every  means  which  does  not  betray  the  insignificance 
of  art,  when  compared  with  the  works  of  nature.  For 
this  reason,  if  the  approach  were  brought  along  the 
straight  line  of  avenue,  gradually  ascending,  the  situa- 


Theory  and  Practice  167 

tion  of  Burley  would  lose  much  of  its  sublimity  by 
anticipation. 

The  prevalence  of  fashion,  in  all  subjects  of  taste, 
will  at  times  have  its  influence,  but  as  fashion  is  more 
the  effect  of  whim  and  caprice  than  of  reason  and  ar- 
gument, it  has  been  my  great  object  to  rescue  land- 
scape gardening  from  its  fascinating  power;  and  while 
accommodating  myself  to  the  wishes  of  those  who  con- 
sult me,  to  the  customs  of  the  times,  or  to  the  peculiar- 
ity of  various  situations  and  characters,  I  hope  never 
to  lose  sight  of  the  great  and  essential  object  of  my 
profession,  the  elegance,  the  magnificence,  and  the  con- 
venience of  rural  scenes,  appropriated  to  the  uses  of 
a  gentleman's  habitation, ^^ 

This  may  be  equally  effected,  whether  we  revert  to  the 
formal  fashion  of  straight  walled  gardening  or  adopt 
the  serpentine  lines  of  modern  improvers,  under  the 
pretended  notion  of  imitating  nature.  But  there  is  a 
certain  dignity  of  style  in  Burley,  which,  like  the  cum- 
brous robes  of  our  nobility,  neither  can  nor  ought  to  be 
sacrificed  to  the  innovation  of  fashion  or  the  affectation 
of  ease  and  simplicity. 

Mr.  Burke  justly  observes  that  "a  true  artist  should 
put  a  generous  deceit  on  the  spectators  and  effect  the 
noblest  designs  by  easy  methods.  Designs  that  are  vast 
only  by  their  dimensions  are  always  the  sign  of  a  com- 
mon and  low  imagination.  No  work  of  art  can  be  great 
but  as  it  deceives;  to  be  otherwise  is  the  prerogative 
of  nature  only."  This  precept  seems  to  have  been 
overlooked  in  the  attempt  to  modernise  Burley:  the 
spacious  court  surrounded  by  a  colonnade  has  been 
frequently  quoted  as  a  wonderful  effort  of  art :  and 
when  the  distant  country  was  excluded  by  a  wall,  by 
the  village,  and  by  trees  beyond  it,  this  ample  area  was 


i68  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  striking  appendages  of 
a  palace.  But  the  moment  one  side  of  the  quadrangle 
is  opened  to  the  adjacent  country,  it  shrinks  from  the 
comparison,  and  the  long  fronts  of  opposite  offices  seem 
extended  into  the  vast  expanse,  without  any  line  of 
connexion.  This  comparative  insignificancy  of  art  is 
nowhere  more  strongly  exemplified  than  in  the  large 
wet  docks  of  Liverpool  and  Hull :  while  the  margins 
of  the  river  are  left  dry  by  the  ebbing  tides,  we  look 
with  astonishment  at  the  capacious  basins  filled  with 
a  vast  body  of  water,  but  when  the  tide  flows  to  the 
same  level,  and  the  floodgates  are  thrown  open,  the 
extent  and  importance  of  the  river  convert  these  arti- 
ficial basins  into  creeks  or  mere  pools.  It  is,  therefore, 
only  by  avoiding  a  comparison  with  the  works  of 
nature  that  we  can  produce  the  effect  of  greatness  in 
artificial  objects;  and  a  large  court  surrounded  by  build- 
ings can  have  no  pretensions  to  be  deemed  a  natural 
object. 

After  removing  the  wall  which  formed  the  front 
of  the  court,  a  doubt  arose  whether  the  present  gate 
and  porter's  lodge  should  or  should  not  remain, 
and  how  to  approach  the  house  to  the  greatest 
advantage. 

There  is  a  certain  point  of  distance  from  whence 
every  object  appears  at  its  greatest  magnitude:  but  in 
cases  where  symmetry  prevails,  the  distance  may  be 
rather  greater,  because  exact  correspondence  of  parts 
assists  the  mind  in  forming  an  idea  of  the  whole.  I 
should  therefore  conceive  that  the  efl^ect  of  surprise, 
of  magnificence,  and  of  the  sublime,  in  this  efibrt  of  art, 
is  greatly  injured  by  seeing  the  interior  of  this  ample 
court  before  we  arrive  at  the  entrance  gate;  because 
that  is  nearly  the  spot  where  the  eye  is  completely  filled 


Theory  and  Practice  169 

and  gratified  by  the  surrounding  objects.  But  as  this 
view  should  not  be  momentary,  I  suppose  the  road  to 
continue  from  the  gate  in  a  straight  line,  till  it  falls  into 
a  circle  with  the  colonnade ;  and  here  the  broad  road 
may  be  intercepted  with  posts  and  chains,  to  direct  car- 
riages into  that  course  which  displays  the  whole  area  to 
the  greatest  advantage,  passing  nearer  to  the  side  colon- 
nade, shewing  that  in  perspective,  and  presenting  the 
house  at  the  angle  to  shew  its  depth.  The  manner  in 
which  this  is  effected  by  sweeping  round  the  court  is 
not  to  be  described  by  painting,  because  every  step 
varies  the  position  of  the  several  parts,  as  they  advance 
or  recede  perspectively. 

Hitherto  I  have  spoken  of  the  north  or  entrance 
front  and  courtyard  of  Burley,  the  whole  of  which  I 
would  treat  only  as  a  work  of  art,  and,  if  possible, 
exclude  all  view  of  the  country.  But  to  the  south,  the 
prospect  or  natural  landscape  is  the  leading  feature  for 
our  consideration.  The  steep  descent  from  the  house 
has  been  cut  into  a  number  of  terraces,  each  supported 
by  a  red  brick  wall ;  and  if  these  several  walls  had 
been  of  stone,  or  architecturally  finished  like  the  old 
costly  hanging-gardens  of  France  and  Italy,  they  might 
perhaps  have  added  more  magnificence  to  the  house 
than  any  improvement  which  modern  gardening  could 
suggest,  but  they  are  mean  in  their  forms,  diminutive 
in  their  height,  and  out  of  harmony  in  their  colour. 
Yet  the  style  of  the  house  and  the  steepness  of  the 
declivity  will  not  admit  of  their  being  all  taken  away 
to  slope  the  ground,  in  the  manner  too  often  practised 
by  modern  improvers. 

I  therefore  make  a  compromise  between  ancient  and 
modern  gardening,  between  art  and  nature,  and  by  in- 
creasing the  height,  or  rather  the  depth,  from  the  upper 


lyo  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

terrace  to  the  lower  level  of  the  ground,  I  make  that 
the  line  of  demarcation  beween  the  dressed  ground  and 
the  park;  and  happy  would  it  be  for  the  magnificence 
of  English  scenery  if  many  such  stately  terraces  near 
a  palace  had  been  thus  preserved. 


Chapter  XI 


Endless  Variety  of  Situation  and  Character  —  First 
Impressions  —  Roads  —  Entrances  —  Adaptation 
of  Orna??iental  Buildings 


I  HAVE  occasionally  been  asked,  when  visiting  a 
beautiful  spot,  which,  of  all  the  places  I  had  seen, 
was  the  most  beautiful?  It  is  impossible  to  define 
those  circumstances  which,  on  different  persons,  make 
different  impressions  at  first  sight;  perfection  is  no  more 
to  be  found  in  the  works  of  nature  than  in  those  of  art. 
Such  is  the  equal  providence  of  the  great  Author  of 
nature  that  every  place  has  its  beauties  and  its  deform- 
ities, and,  whether  situated  among  the  mountains  of 
Wales  or  on  the  margin  of  Clapham  Common,  it  will 
not  only  be  endeared  to  its  proprietor,  but  to  the  dis- 
cerning stranger,  by  some  peculiar  features  of  beauty. 

The  materials  of  natural  landscape  are  ground,  wood, 
and  water,  to  which  man  adds  buildings,  and  adapts 
them  to  the  scene.  It  is  therefore  from  the  artificial 
considerations  of  utility,  convenience,  and  propriety, 
that  a  place  derives  its  real  value  in  the  eyes  of  a  man 
of  taste :  he  will  discover  graces  and  defects  in  every 
situation;  he  will  be  as  much  delighted  with  a  bed  of 
flowers  as  with  a  forest  thicket,  and  he  will  be  as  much 
disgusted  by  the  fanciful  affectation  of  rude  nature  in 
tame  scenery  as  by  the  trimness  of  spruce  art  in  that 
which  is  wild  :  the  thatched  hovel  in  a  flower-garden 
and  the  treillis  bocage  [grove  trellis,  trellis-work  arched 
overhead]  in  a  forest  are  equally  misplaced. 


172 


The  Art  of  Landscape. 


General  principles,  or  general  designs,  which  Ux. 
applicable  to  all  situations,  would  be  alike  impossible. 
The  painter  copies,  in  their  respective  places,  the  eyes, 
the  nose,  and  mouth  of  the  individual,  but,  without 
adding  character,  his  picture  will  not  be  interesting. 
The  landscape  gardener  finds  ground,  wood,  and  water, 
but  with  little  more  power  than  the  painter,  of  changing 
their  relative  position  ;  he  adds  character,  by  the  point 
of  view  in  which  he  displays  them,  or  by  the  ornaments 
of  art  with  which  they  are  embellished.  To  describe  by 
words  the  various  characters  and  situations  of  all  the 
places  in  which  I  have  been  consulted  would  be  tedi- 
ous, and  to  give  views  of  each  would  alter  the  design 
of  this  work  :  I  shall,  therefore,  dedicate  this  chapter  to 
a  miscellaneous  assemblage  of  extracts  from  different 
Red  Books,  without  aiming  at  connexion  or  arrange- 
ment. These  may  furnish  examples  of  variety  in  the 
treatment  of  various  subjects  ;  while  the  reasons  on 
which  their  treatment  is  founded  will,  I  hope,  be 
deemed  so  far  conclusive  that  some  general  principles 
may  be  drawn  from  them,  tending  to  prove  that  there 
are  rules  for  good  taste. 

There  is  no  principle  of  the  art  so  necessary  to  be 
studied  as  the  effects  produced  on  the  mind  by  the 
first  view  of  certain  objects,  or,  rather,  that  general  dis- 
position of  the  human  mind  by  which  it  is  capable  of 
strongly  receiving  first  impressions.  We  frequently 
decide  on  the  character  of  places,  as  well  as  of  persons, 
with  no  other  knowledge  of  either  than  what  is  acquired 
by  the  first  glance  of  their  most  striking  features  ;  and 
it  is  with  difficulty  or  with  surprise  that  the  mind  is 
afterwards  constrained  to  adopt  a  contrary  opinion. 
Thus,  if  the  approach  to  a  house  be  over  a  flat  plain 


Theory  and  Practice  173 

we  shall  pronounce  the  situation  to  be  flat  also,  although 
the  ground  immediately  near  the  house  be  varied  and 
uneven  ;  whilst,  on  the  contrary,  if  the  road  winds  its 
course  over  gentle  hills  and  dales  and  at  length  ascends 
a  steep  bank  to  the  house,  we  shall  always  consider  it  as 
standing  on  an  eminence,  although  the  views  from  the 
house  may  be  perfectly  flat. 

I  have,  therefore,  watched  with  nice  attention  the 
first  ideas  which  have  occurred  to  me  in  visiting  any 
new  subject;  and  if  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  it  in- 
duces me  afterwards  to  alter  my  opinion,  I  then  inquire 
into  the  causes  which  influenced  my  former  false  judge- 
ment, that  I  may  by  this  means  increase  or  diminish 
them  accordingly. 

One  of  the  first  objects  of  improvement  should  be 
to  adapt  the  character  of  the  grounds  to  that  of  the 
house;  and  both  should  bear  some  proportion  to  the 
extent  of  property  by  which  they  are  surrounded. 

At  Stoke,  in  Herefordshire,  the  house  and  park  are  as 
perfectly  separated  from  each  other  by  a  turnpike  road 
as  if  they  were  the  property  of  different  persons  ;  and 
both  are  seen  from  that  road  in  the  most  unfavourable 
points  of  view.  Of  the  house  little  is  visible  except  the 
roof  and  chimneys  ;  and  with  respect  to  the  park,  which 
naturally  abounds  with  the  most  pleasing  shapes  of 
ground,  richly  clothed  with  wood,  the  road  passes  so 
immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  declivity  that  the  whole 
appears  foreshortened,  and  all  its  beauties  are  entirely 
lost.  To  divert  the  course  of  this  road,  therefore,  be- 
comes the  first  object  of  improvement. 

I  have,  on  several  occasions,  ventured  to  condemn 
as  false  taste  that  fatal  rage  for  destroying  villages  or 
depopulating  a  country,  under  the  idea   of  its  being 


174 


The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 


necessary  to  the  importance  of  a  mansion  :  from  the 
same  Red  Book  the  following  extract  is  taken  : 

As  a  number  of  labourers  constitutes  one  of  the 
requisites  of  grandeur,  comfortable  habitations  for  its 
poor  dependants  ought  to  be  provided.  It  is  no  more 
necessary  that  these  habitations  should  be  seen  immedi- 
ately near  the  palace  than  that  their  inhabitants  should 
dine  at  the  same  table ;  but  if  their  humble  dwellings 
can  be  made  a  subordinate  part  of  the  general  scenery, 
they  will,  so  far  from  disgracing  it,  add  to  the  dignity 
that  wealth  can  derive  from  the  exercise  of  benevolence. 
Under  such  impressions  and  with  such  sentiments  I  am 
peculiarly  happy  in  being  called  upon  to  mark  a  spot 
for  new  cottages,  instead  of  those  which  it  is  necessary 
to  remove,  not  absolutely  because  they  are  too  near  the 
house,  for  that  is  hardly  the  case  with  those  cottages  in 
the  dell,  but  because,  the  turnpike  road  being  removed, 
there  will  be  no  access  for  the  inhabitants  but  through 
a  part  of  the  park,  which  cannot  then  be  private.  I  must 
advise,  however,  that  some  one  or  more  of  the  houses 
in  this  dell  be  left,  and  inhabited  either  as  a  keeper's 
house,  a  dairy,  or  a  menagerie,  that  the  occasional  smoke 
from  the  chimneys  may  animate  the  scene.  The  pictur- 
esque and  pleasing  effect  of  smoke  ascending,  when 
relieved  by  a  dark  hanging  wood  in  the  deep  recess  of 
a  beautiful  glen  like  this,  is  a  circumstance  by  no  means 
to  be  neglected. 

As  an  example  of  a  place  in  a  mountainous  country 
the  following  extract  from  the  Red  Book  of  Riig,  in 
North  Wales,  is  subjoined  : 

At  a  period  when  the  ancient  family  honours  of  a 
neighbouring  country  are  rooted  out  with  savage  barbar- 
ity, I  rejoice  in  an  opportunity  of  contributing  my  assist- 


Theory  and  Practice  175 

ance  to  preserve  in  this,  every  vestige  of  ancient  or 
hereditary  dignity  ;  and  I  should  feel  it  a  kind  of  sacri- 
lege in  taste  to  destroy  an  atom  of  that  old,  ruinous, 
and  almost  uninhabitable  mansion  at  Riig,  if  it  were 
to  be  replaced  by  one  of  those  gaudy  scarlet  houses, 
which  we  see  spring  up,  like  mushrooms,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  large  manufacturing  towns.  1  am,  how- 
ever, restrained  from  indulging  to  its  full  extent  my 
veneration  for  antiquity,  by  reflecting  that  modern 
comfort  and  convenience  are  the  first  objects  to  be  con- 
sulted in  the  improvement  of  a  modern  residence;  and 
therefore  I  trust  I  shall  neither  incur  the  censure  of 
those  who  know  and  feel  the  comforts  of  the  age  we 
live  in  nor  offend  the  genius  of  the  place  by  "  call- 
ing from  the  vasty  deep  the  angry  spirits"  of  Owen 
Glendwr  of  Burgontumi,  who  formerly  inhabited  this 
domain. 

In  a  country  like  that  of  North  Wales,  abounding  in 
magnificent  scenery,  the  views  from  the  house  should 
rather  aim  at  comfort  and  appropriation  of  landscape 
than  extensive  prospect ;  because  the  latter  may  be  had 
from  every  field  or  public  road  on  the  mountains,  and 
the  attempt  to  make  a  large  park  or  domain  would  be 
fruitless  where  a  lawn  of  a  thousand  acres  would  appear 
but  a  small  spot,  compared  with  the  wide  expanse  of 
country  seen  from  the  neighbouring  hills.  I  should  there- 
fore advise  the  lawn  to  be  confined  within  the  compass 
of  forty  or  fifty  acres  ;  yet  from  the  variety  of  its  surface 
and  the  diversity  of  objects  it  contains  there  will  be  more 
real  beauty  and  even  magnificence  within  this  small 
enclosure  than  in  other  parks  of  many  hundred  acres. 

However  partial  we  may  be  to  grand  and  extensive 
prospects,  they  are  never  advisable  for  the  situation  of  a 
house,  in  which  convenience  and  comfort  should  doubt- 


176  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

less  take  the  lead  of  every  other  consideration.  The  fre- 
quent rains  and  violent  storms  of  wind  to  which  all 
mountainous  countries  are  exposed,  have  taught  the 
mhabitants  not  only  to  choose  warm  valleys  for  their 
houses,  but  have  also  introduced  a  style  of  architecture 
peculiarly  suited  to  those  situations  :  the  small  towns 
of  Llangollen  and  Corwen,  as  well  as  those  in  the 
mountains  of  Switzerland,  have  all  low  sheds  or  pent- 
houses, under  which  the  inhabitants  may  take  shelter 
from  occasional  driving  storms.  The  arcade  of  Gothic 
architecture  is  infinitely  more  applicable  to  such  situa- 
tions than  the  lofty  portico  of  Greece,  which  is  rather 
calculated  for  those  warm  regions  where  man  wants  pro- 
tection from  the  vertical  beams  of  a  burning  sun.  1  hope, 
therefore,  that  both  the  character  and  situation  of  Riig 
will  justify  a  design  for  a  new  house,  which  may  possess 
a  degree  of  grandeur  and  magnificence  not  incompatible 
with  modern  convenience. 

There  is  no  circumstance  in  which  bad  taste  is  so  con- 
spicuous as  in  the  misuse  of  ornaments  and  decora- 
tions ;  an  observation  equally  applicable  to  all  the 
polite  arts,  and  notless  true  with  respect  to  eloquence, 
poetry,  music,  and  painting  than  to  architecture  and 
gardening.  Thus,  for  instance,  a  rural  scene  may  be 
delightful  without  any  building  or  work  of  art,  yet,  if 
judiciously  embellished  by  artificial  objects  in  character 
with  the  scene,  the  landscape  will  be  more  perfect;  on 
the  contrary,  if  encumbered  by  buildings  in  a  bad  taste, 
or  crowded  by  such  as  are  too  large,  too  small,  or  in 
any  respect  inapplicable,  however  correct  they  may  be 
as  works  of  art,  the  scene  will  be  injured,  and  thus 
a  thatched  hovel  may  be  deemed  an  ornament,  where 
a  Corinthian  temple  would  be  misplaced,  or  vice  versa. 


Theory  and  Practice  177 

In  this  miscellaneous  chapter  may  properly  be  in- 
serted some  specimens  of  various  buildings,  to  eluci- 
date the  truth  of  an  observation,  which  hardly  seems  to 
require  enforcing;  yet  the  frequent  introduction  of  orna- 
mental buildings,  copied  from  books,  without  reference 
to  the  character  and  situation  of  the  scenery,  is  not  less 
fatal  to  the  good  taste  of  the  country  than  it  would  be 
to  the  life  of  individuals  to  use  medical  prescriptions 
without  inquiring  into  the  nature  and  cause  of  diseases. 

The  facility  with  which  a  country  carpenter  can  erect 
small  buildings  intended  for  ornament  may  perhaps 
account  for  their  frequency  ;  but  I  am  not  ashamed  to 
confess  that  I  have  often  experienced  more  difficulty 
in  determining  the  form  and  size  of  a  hovel  or  a  park 
entrance  than  in  arranging  the  several  apartments  of 
a  large  mansion  ;  indeed,  there  is  no  subject  on  which 
I  have  so  seldom  satisfied  my  own  judgement  as  in  that 
of  an  entrance  to  a  park. 

The  custom  of  placing  a  gate  between  two  square 
boxes,  or,  as  it  is  called,,  a  "  pair  of  lodges,"  has  always 
appeared  to  me  absurd,  because  it  is  an  attempt  to  give 
consequence  to  that  which  in  itself  is  mean  ;  the  habita- 
tion of  a  single  labourer,  or  perhaps  of  a  solitary  old 
woman  to  open  the  gate,  is  split  into  two  houses  for 
the  sake  of  childish  symmetry.  As  this  absurd  fashion 
of  a  pair  of  lodges  deserves  to  be  treated  with  ridicule, 
I  cannot  help  mentioning  the  witty  comment  of  a  cele- 
brated lady,  who,  because  they  looked  like  tea-caddies, 
wrote  on  two  such  lodges,  in  large  letters,  "  Green  "  and 
"  Bohea."  And  very  often  the  most  squalid  misery  is 
found  in  the  person  thus  banished  from  society,  who 
inhabits  a  dirty  room  of  a  few  feet  square.  It  is  the 
gate,  and  not  the  dwelling  of  the  person  who  opens  it, 
that  ought  to  partake  of  the  character  of  the  house. 


lyS  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

where  architectural  display  is  necessary ;  and  this  prin- 
ciple seems  to  point  out  the  true  mode  of  marking  the 
entrance  to  a  place. 

An  arched  gateway  at  the  entrance  of  a  place  is 
never  used  with  so  mugh  apparent  propriety  as  when 
it  forms  a  part  of  a  town  or  village  ;  at  least  it  should 
be  so  flanked  by  lofty  walls  as  to  mark  the  separation 
between  the  public  and  the  park  and  increase  the  con- 
trast, but  when  seen  in  contact  with  a  low  park-pale, 
or  even  an  iron  palisade,  it  appears  to  want  connexion: 
it  looks  too  ostentatious  for  its  utility,  and  I  doubt 
whether  it  would  not  lessen  the  pleasure  we  derive  from 
viewing  the  magnificent  Grecian  arches  at  Burlington 
House  and  at  Blenheim  if  the  side  walls  were  lower. 

In  recommending  the  use  of  an  arch,  I  must  guard 
against  being  misunderstood,  by  mentioning  several 
circumstances  which  I  deem  objectionable. 

1st.  The  arch  should  not  be  a  mere  aperture  in  a 
single  wall,  but  it  should  have  depth  in  proportion  to 
its  breadth. 

2d.  It  should  have  some  visible  and  marked  con- 
nexion either  with  a  wall  or  with  the  town  to  which  it 
belongs,  and  not  appear  insulated. 

3d.  It  should  not  be  placed  in  so  low  a  situation 
that  we  may  rather  see  over  it  than  through  it. 

4th.  Its  architecture  should  correspond  with  that  of 
the  house,  in  style,  if  not  in  order;  that  is,  the  Grecian 
and  Gothic  should  be  kept  separate,  although  the  design 
may  not  be  copied  from  the  house.   And, 

Lastly.  Neither  the  house  should  be  visible  from  the 
entrance  nor  the  entrance  from  the  house,  if  there  be 
sufficient  distance  between  them  to  make  the  approach 
through  a  park  and  not  immediately  into  a  court- 
yard; the  two  last  general  rules  are  equally  applicable 


Theory  and  Practice  179 

to  every  sort  of  entrance,  as  well  as  that  through  an 
arch,  yet  there  are  certain  situations  where  the  latter 
cannot  be  avoided.  Of  this,  an  instance  occurred  in 
Stoke  Park,  Herefordshire,  where  the  gate  and  the 
cottage  near  it  were  disguised  by  the  portico,  repre- 
sented in  the  following  sketch  [Fig.  22],  which  forms 
a  pavilion,  or  covered  seat,  adjoining  to  the  walk  in 
the  shrubbery. 

In  various  situations  various  expedients  have  been 
adopted ;  thus, at  Antony,  I  recommended,  near  the  gate, 
a  cottage,  over  which  is  a  room,  to  command  the  fine 
view  of  the  harbour,  etc.  At  St.  John's,  in  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  two  cottages  covered  with  flowering  creepers 
attract  the  notice  of  all  who  visit  the  island;  and  while 
one  is  a  comfortable  residence  for  a  family,  the  other 
consists  of  a  room  near  the  roadside,  from  whence  the 
mind  derives  peculiar  satisfaction  in  seeing  the  constant 
succession  of  visitors  who  leave  their  homes  in  search 
of  happiness.  In  some  places  the  cottage  is  more  con- 
spicuous, by  dividing  the  road  to  the  house  from  the 
public  road,  as  at  Milton;  but,  in  most  cases,  I  have 
endeavoured  to  conceal  the  cottage,  when  it  is  quite 
solitary,  among  the  trees,  only  shewing  the  gate  of 
entrance. 

Concerning  gates,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  mention 
my  opinion,  with  reasons  for  it. 

I  St.  As  an  entrance  near  a  town,  I  prefer  close  wooden 
gates,  for  the  sake  of  privacy,  except  where  the  view  is 
only  into  a  wood,  and  not  into  the  open  lawn. 

2d.  The  gates  should  be  of  iron,  or  close  boards,  if 
hanging  to  piers  of  stone,  or  brick-work  ;  otherwise  an 
open  or  common  field-gate  of  wood  appears  mean,  or  as 
if  only  a  temporary  expedient. 


i8o 


The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 


3d.  If  the  gates  are  of  iron,  the  posts  or  piers  ought 
to  be  conspicuous,  because  an  iron  gate  hanging  to  an 
iron  pier  of  the  same  colour  is  almost  invisible;  and  the 
principal  entrance  to  a  park  should  be  so  marked  that 
no  one  may  mistake  it. 

4th.  If  the  entrance-gate  be  wood,  it  should,  for  the 
same  reason,  be  painted  white,  and  its  form  should  rather 
tend  to  shew  its  construction  than  aim  at  fanciful  orna- 
ment of  Chinese,  or  Gothic,  for  reasons  to  be  explained 
in  speaking  of  decorations. 


Fig.  22.    Stoke  Park,  Herefordshire. 


It  is  not  sufficient  that  a  building  should  be  in  just 
proportions  with  itself;  it  should  bear  some  relative  pro- 
portion to  the  objects  near  it.  The  example  given 
[Fig.  22]  is  the  Doric  portico  at  Stoke  Park,  in  Here- 
fordshire, where  the  size  of  the  building  was  regulated 
by  a  large  oak  and  a  young  plantation  near  it :  had  this 
building  been  more  lofty,  it  would  have  overpowered 
the  young  trees  by  which  it  is  surrounded,  and  a  smaller 


Theory  and  Practice 


i8i 


building  would  have  appeared  diminutive  so  near  to 
the  neighbouring  large  oak;  I  therefore  judged  that  the 
best  rule  for  the  dimensions  of  the  columns  was 
rather  less  than  the  diameter  of  the  oak,  and  this,  of 
course,  determined  the  whole  proportion  of  the  Doric 
portico. 

So  prevalent  is  the  taste  for  what  is  called  Gothic,in  the 
neighbourhood  of  great  cities,  that  we  see  buildings  of 
every  description,  from  the  villa  to  the  pig-sty,  with  little 


Fig.  23.   Gothic  Cottage. 

pointed  arches  or  battlements,  to  look  like  Gothic  ;  and 
a  Gothic  dairy  is  now  become  as  common  an  appendage 
to  a  place  as  were  formerly  the  hermitage,  the  grotto,  or 
the  Chinese  pavilion.  Why  the  dairy  should  be  Gothic, 
when  the  house  is  not  so,  I  cannot  understand,  unless 
it  arises  from  that  great  source  of  bad  taste,  to  introduce 
what  is  called  a  pretty  thing  without  any  reference  to  its 
character,  situation,  or  uses.  Even  in  old  Gothic  cot- 
tages we  never  see  the  sharp-pointed  arch,  but  often  the 
flat  arch  of  Henry  VIII,  and  perhaps  there  is  no  form 
more  picturesque  for  a  cottage  than  buildings  of  that 


1 82         The  Art  OF  Landscape  Gardening 

date,  especially  as  their  lofty  perforated  chimneys  not 
only  contribute  to  the  beauty  of  the  outline,  but  tend  to 
remedy  the  curse  of  the  poor  man's  fireside,  a  smoky 
house  [see  Fig.  23]. 

There  are  few  situations  in  which  any  building,  whether 
of  rude  materials  or  highly  finished  architecture,  can  be 
properly  introduced  without  some  trees  near  it.  Yet  the 
summit  of  a  naked  brow,  commanding  views  in  every  di- 
rection, may  require  a  covered  seat  or  pavilion  ;  for  such 
a  situation,  where  an  architectural  building  is  proper, 
a  circular  temple  with  a  dome,  such  as  the  temple  of  the 
Sybils,  or  that  of  Tivoli,  is  best  calculated  ;  but  in  rude 
scenery,  as  on  a  knoll  or  promontory  in  a  forest,  the 
same  idea  may  be  preserved  in  a  thatched  hovel  sup- 
ported by  rude  trunks  of  trees  ;  yet,  as  the  beauty  of 
such  an  object  will  greatly  depend  on  the  vegetation,  it 
should  be  planted  with  ivy  or  vines,  and  other  creep- 
ing plants  should  be  encouraged  to  spread  their  foliage 
over  the  thatch. 

The  principal  view  from  the  house  at  Blaize  Cas- 
tle is  along  that  rich  glen  of  wood  through  which  the 
approach  has  been  made,  as  already  described  :  in  this 
view,  the  castle,  although  perfectly  in  harmony  with 
the  solemn  dignity  of  the  surrounding  woods,  increases 
rather  than  relieves  that  apparent  solitude  which  is  too 
sombre  for  the  character  of  a  villa. 

Some  object  was  wanting  to  enliven  the  scenery  : 
a  temple,  or  a  pavilion,  in  this  situation,  would  have 
reflected  light,  and  formed  a  contrast  with  the  dark 
woods ;  but  such  a  building  would  not  have  appeared 
to  be  inhabited ;  this  cottage  [Plate  xvi]  therefore 
derives  its  chief  beautyfrom  that  which  cannot  easily  be 
expressed  by  painting  —  the  ideas  of  motion,  animation. 


Theory  AND  Practice  183 

and  inhabitancy,  contrasted  with  those  of  stillness  and 
solitude.  Its  form  is  meant  to  be  humble,  without 
meanness;  it  is  and  appears  the  habitation  of  a  labourer 
who  has  the  care  of  the  neighbouring  woods  ;  its  sim- 
plicity is  the  effect  of  art,  not  of  neglect  or  accident ; 
it  seems  to  belong  to  the  mansion,  and  to  the  more 
conspicuous  tower,  without  affecting  to  imitate  the 
character  of  either. 

The  propensity  for  imitation,  especially  where  no 
great  trouble  or  expense  is  incurred,  has  made  treillage 
ornaments  so  common  that  some  observations  con- 
cerning them  may  be  expected  in  this  work,  especially 
as  1  believe  I  may  have  contributed  originally  to  their 
introduction  ;  but  1  little  thought  how  far  this  flimsy 
ornament  might  be  misapplied. 

The  treillages  of  Versailles  and  Fontainebleau  were 
of  substantial  carpentry,  preserving  architectural  pro- 
portions, in  which  plants  were  confined  and  clipped  to 
form  a  sort  of  vegetable  and  architectural  berceau  or 
cabinet  de  verdure ;  these  being  made  of  strong  wood 
and  painted  were  more  costly  and  more  durable  ;  and 
as  they  only  formed  a  frame  for  the  plants,  they  might 
perish  without  injuring  the  forms  of  these  leafy  build- 
ings ;  but  the  English  treillage  is  made  of  such  slight 
materials  and  so  slightly  put  together  that  they  can 
hardly  outlive  the  season  for  which  they  are  erected. 
This,  however,  is  no  objection  where  they  are  used  in 
flower-gardens,  or  where  they  are  merely  to  be  consid- 
ered as  garden-sticks  supporting  plants ;  but  when 
added  to  architectural  houses  and  made  the  supporters 
of  a  heavy  roof  or  even  a  canvas  awning,  it  looks  as 
if  the  taste  of  the  country  were  verging  to  its  decline, 
since  shade   might   be  obtained   by  the   same   awning 


184         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

supported   by  iron,  if  architectural  forms  and  projec- 
tions are  to  be  despised  or  discarded. 

I  should  therefore  suppose  that  no  treillage  ought  to 
be  introduced  except  in  situations  where  creeping  plants 
may  be  fastened  to  the  framing,  which  should  be  stout 
in  proportion  to  its  height  or  its  intentions :  it  is  a  com- 
mon mistake  to  suppose  a  thing  will  look  light  by  being 
slender ;  if  it  be  not  equal  to  its  office  by  its  apparent 
substance,  it  will  look  weak,  not  light ;  but  the  lattice- 
work is  supposed  to  support  nothing,  and  may  there- 
fore be  of  any  dimensions,  and,  being  always  painted,  it 
will  be  invisible  at  a  distance. 

I  could  wish,  in  speaking  of  architecture,  if  the  use 
of  language  would  admit  of  such  distinction,  to  make 
a  difference  between  the  words  ornament  and  decora- 
tion. The  former  should  include  every  enrichment  bear- 
ing the  semblance  of  utility  ;  the  latter  is  supposed  to 
have  no  relation  whatever  to  the  uses  or  construction  of 
the  building;  thus,  for  instance,  a  house  may  answer  all 
the  purposes  of  habitation  without  a  column,  a  pilaster, 
an  entablature,  a  pediment,  a  dome,  an  arcade,  or  a  balus- 
trade, which  I  call  the  external  ornaments  of  Grecian 
architecture.  I  include  under  the  word  decorations  — 
statues,  vases,  basso-relievos,  sculpture,  etc.,  which  have 
no  use  but  as  additional  enrichments  to  the  ornaments 
of  architecture;  on  the  contrary,  where  these  decorations 
are  applied  to  plain  buildings  without  ornaments,  they 
are  marks  of  bad  taste. 

The  ornaments  of  architecture  must  be  correct  in 
design,  since  no  degree  of  costliness  in  their  materials 
or  their  workmanship  can  compensate  for  any  defect  in 
proportion,  order,  or  disposition.  The  eye  of  good  taste 
will  be  equally  offended  with  columns  too  large  or  too 


Theory  AND  Practice  185 

small, too  near  or  too  far  apart;  in  short,  with  every  devi- 
ation from  the  established  rules  of  the  respective  orders, 
whether  such  column  be  composed  of  marble,  of  stone, 
or  of  plastered  brick-work,  the  costliness  of  the  material 
makes  no  difference  in  the  design.  But  this  is  not  the 
case  with  decorations.  The  cheapness  and  facility  with 
which  good  designs  may  be  multiplied  in  papier  mache 
or  putty  composition  have  encouraged  bad  taste  in  the 
lavish  profusion  of  tawdry  embellishment. 

This  consideration  leads  me  to  assert  that  every  species 
of  enrichment  or  decoration  ought  to  be  costly,  either  in 
its  materials  or  in  its  workmanship  :  and  If  we  attend  to 
the  common  opinion  of  all,  except  children  and  savages, 
we  shall  find  that  no  real  value  Is  attached  to  any  deco- 
ration, except  upon  this  principle ;  on  the  contrary,  It 
becomes  contemptible  In  proportion  as  it  affects  to  seem 
what  It  is  not. 

The  idea  of  costliness  in  ornament  Is  Increased  by  its 
rarity,  or,  rather,  by  its  being  used  only  where  it  Is  most 
conspicuous,  and  this  sort  of  economy  is  observable  even 
In  the  works  of  nature  ;  for  Instance,  the  most  beautiful 
coloured  feathers  of  birds  are  on  the  surface,  while  those 
for  use,  rather  than  for  shew,  are  generally  of  a  dirty 
brown;  it  may  also  be  observed  that  those  butterflies 
or  moths,  whose  wings  are  ornamented  on  the  under 
side,  generally  bear  them  erect,  while  those  which  have 
the  upper  side  most  beautiful  generally  spread  them 
flat.  The  same  remark  may  be  extended  to  all  the  vege- 
table tribe;  every  flower  and  every  leaf  has  one  side 
more  ornamented,  more  glossy,  more  vivid,  or  more 
highly  finished  than  the  other,  and  this  Is  always  the 
side  presented  to  the  eye.  Hence  we  are  taught,  by  the 
example  of  nature,  not  to  lavish  decorations  where  they 
cannot  generally  be  seen. 


1 86         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

While  treating  on  the  subject  of  ornaments  and  deco- 
rations, I  must  not  omit  to  mention  colours,  since  im- 
proper colouring  may  destroy  the  intended  effect  of  the 
most  correct  design  and  render  ridiculous  what  would 
otherwise  be  beautiful.  Both  the  form  and  the  colour  of 
a  small  house  in  Langley  Park  rendered  it  an  object 
unworthy  of  its  situation ;  yet,  from  peculiar  circum- 
stances, it  was  not  deemed  advisable  either  to  remove  it 
or  to  hide  it  by  plantations.  I  therefore  recommended 
a  Doric  portico  to  cover  the  front ;  and  thus  a  building 
formerly  unsightly,  because  out  of  character  with  the 
park,  became  its  brightest  ornament,  doing  honour  to 
the  taste  and  feelings  of  the  noble  proprietor,  who  pre- 
served the  house  for  having  been  a  favourite  retreat 
of  his  mother,  and  which,  thus  ornamented,  may  be 
considered  as  a  temple  sacred  to  filial  piety. 

In  the  following  instances  there  is  something  more 
than  harmony  of  colours ;  there  is  an  association  from 
habit,  which  causes  part  of  our  pleasure  or  disgust. 

A  compact  red  house  displeases  from  the  meanness 
of  its  materials,  because  we  suppose  it  to  be  of  common 
red  bricks,  although  it  may  perhaps  be  of  the  red  stone 
of  Herefordshire. 

On  the  contrary,  a  large  pile  of  red  buildings  is  not 
so  displeasing;  witness  the  houses  of  Cobham,Glemham, 
etc.,  and  the  royal  palaces  of  St.  James's,  Hampton 
Court,  Kensington,  etc. ;  but  perhaps  the  weather-stains 
of  time  may  have  contributed  more  than  the  quantity 
to  reconcile  us  to  the  colour  of  these  large  masses. 

Lime-whitened  houses  offend  the  eye,  partly  from  the 
violent  glare  and  partly  from  the  associated  meanness 
of  a  lath  and  plaster  building,  but  if  a  little  black  and 
yellow  be  mixed  with  the  lime,  the  resemblance  to  the 
colour  of  stone  satisfies  the  eye  almost  as  much  as  if  it 


Theory  and  Practice  187 

were  built  of  the  most  costly  materials ;  witness  Wood- 
ley,  Babworth,  Taplow,  etc. 

To  produce  effect  by  difference  of  colour  in  build- 
ings, such  as  red  and  yellow  bricks,  black  and  white 
flints,  oreven  edging  brick-work  with  dressings  of  stone, 
is  the  poor  expedient  of  the  mere  bricklayer ;  the  same 
may  be  observed  of  that  paltry  taste  for  pointing  the 
joints  of  brick-work  to  render  them  more  conspicuous, 
and,  of  course,  more  offensive. 

As  a  general  principle  I  should  assert  that  no  ex- 
ternal effect  or  light  and  shade  on  a  building  ought  to 
be  attempted,  except  by  such  projections  or  recesses  as 
will  naturally  produce  them,  since  every  effect  produced 
by  colour  is  a  trick  or  sham  expedient ;  and  on  the  same 
principle  a  recess  in  the  wall  is  preferable  to  a  painted 
window,  unless  it  is  actually  glazed. 

With  respect  to  the  colour  of  sashes  and  window- 
frames,  I  think  they  may  be  thus  determined  with  pro- 
priety, first  observing  that  from  the  inside  of  the  room 
the  landscape  looks  better  through  bars  of  a  dark 
colour  ;  but  on  the  outside,  in  small  cottages,  they  may 
be  green,  because  it  is  a  degree  of  ornament  not  incom- 
patible with  the  circumstances  of  the  persons  supposed 
to  inhabit  them,  and  even  in  such  small  houses  as  may 
be  deemed  cottages,  the  same  colour  may  be  proper. 
But  in  proportion  as  it  approaches  to  a  mansion,  it 
should  not  derive  its  decoration  from  so  insignificant 
an  expedient  as  colour,  and,  therefore,  to  a  gentleman's 
house  the  outside  of  the  sashes  should  be  white,  whether 
they  be  of  mahogany,  of  oak,  or  of  deal,  because, 
externally,  the  glass  is  fastened  by  a  substance  which 
must  be  painted,  and  the  modern  sash-frames  are  so 
light  that  unless  we  see  the  bars  the  houses  appear  at 
a  distance  unfinished  and  as  having  no  windows.     In 


1 88         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

palaces  or  houses  of  the  highest  description,  the  sash- 
frames  should  be  gilt,  as  at  Holkham,  Wentworth,  etc. 
The  effect  of  gold  in  such  situations  can  hardly  be 
imagined  by  those  who  have  never  observed  it;  and 
even  at  Thoresby,  where  the  house  is  of  red  brick,  the 
gilding  of  the  sashes  has  wonderfully  improved  its 
importance. 

There  is  a  circumstance  with  respect  to  gold  and 
gilding,  of  which  few  are  aware  who  have  not  studied 
the  subject.  The  colour  of  gold,  like  its  material,  seems 
to  remove  all  difficulties  and  makes  everything  pleas- 
ing ;  this  is  evident  on  viewing  a  finely  coloured  picture 
on  a  crimson  hanging,  with  or  without  a  gold  frame ; 
two  discordant  colours  may  be  rendered  more  harmo- 
nious by  the  intervention  of  gilding;  it  is  never  tawdry 
or  glaring,  the  yellow  light  catches  on  a  very  small 
part  of  its  surface,  while  the  brown  shadows  melt  into 
the  adjoining  colours,  and  form  a  quiet  tint,  never 
offensive  :  gold  ornament  may  be  applied  to  every  col- 
our and  every  shade,  and  is  equally  brilliant,  whether 
in  contact  with  black  or  white.  All  ornaments  of  gold 
should  be  more  plain  and  simple  than  those  of  silver ; 
not  only  because  the  costliness  of  the  material  renders 
the  costliness  of  workmanship  less  necessary,  but  be- 
cause the  carved  or  enriched  parts  reflect  very  little 
light  or  brilliancy,  compared  with  those  that  are  plain. 

On  the  contrary,  in  silver  ornaments,  if  the  surface 
be  too  plain,  we  annex  the  ideas  of  tin  or  pewter,  and 
it  is  only  by  the  richness  or  the  embossing  that  its 
intrinsic  value  becomes  apparent.  These  remarks  are 
applicable  to  gold  and  silver  plate,'*°  as  well  as  to  every 
species  of  ornament  in  which  those  metals  can  be  used. 
Since  the  improvement  in  the  manufactory  of  cast-iron 
has  brought  that  material  into  more  frequent  use,  it 


Theory  and  Practice 


may  not  be  improper  to  mention  something  concerning 
the  colour  it  ought  to  be  painted.  Its  natural  colour, 
after  it  is  exposed  to  wet,  is  that  of  rusty  iron,  and  the 
colour  of  rust  indicates  decay  ;  when  painted  of  a  slate 
colour  it  resembles  lead,  which  is  an  inferior  metal  to 
iron  ;  and  if  white  or  green,  it  resembles  wood  :  but 
if  we  wish  it  to  resemble  metal,  and  not  appear  of  an 

nferior  kind,  a  powdering  of  copper  or  gold  dust  on 
■1  green  ground  makes  a  bronze,  and  perhaps  it  is  the 

:)est  colour  for  all  ornamental  rails  of  iron.  In  a  cast- 
i'on  bridge  at  Whitton  the  effect  of  this  bronze  colour, 
nixed  with  gilding,  is  admirable;  and  for  the  hand- 
nils  of  staircases  it  is  peculiarly  appropriate. 

With  respect  to  wooden  fences  or  rails  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say  that  the  less  they  are  seen  the  better  ; 
and  therefore  a  dark,  or,  as  it  is  called,  an  invisible 
green,  for  those  intended  to  be  concealed,  is  the  proper 
colour;  perhaps  there  can  hardly  be  produced  a  more 
striking  example  of  the  truth,  "  that  whatever  is  cheap 
is  improper  for  decorations,"  than  the  garish  ostentation 
of  white  paint,  with  which,  for  a  few  shillings,  a  whole 
country  may  be  disfigured  by  milk-white  gates,  posts, 
and  rails. 


Chapter  XII 

Architecture  and  Gardening  inseparable  —  Forms 
and  Arrangements  of  Different  Eras  —  Change  in 
Custotns  alters  Uses  of  Rooms 


IT  has  been  objected  to  my  predecessor,  Mr.  Brown, 
that  he  fancied  himself  an  architect.  The  many 
good  houses  built  under  his  direction  prove  him  tD 
have  been  no  mean  proficient  in  an  art,  the  practice 
of  which  he  found,  from  experience,  to  be  inseparable 
from  landscape  gardening.  He  had  not  early  studied 
those  necessary  but  inferior  branches  of  architecture, 
better  known,  perhaps,  to  the  practical  carpenter 
than  to  Paliadio  himself,  yet,  from  his  access  to  the 
principal  palaces  of  this  country,  and  his  intercourse 
with  men  of  genius  and  science,  added  to  his  natural 
quickness  of  perception  and  his  habitual  correctness 
of  observation,  he  became  acquainted  with  the  higher 
requisites  of  the  art  relating  to  form,  to  proportion, 
to  character,  and,  above  all,  to  arrangement.''' 

These  branches  of  architecture  are  attainable  without 
much  early  practice,  as  we  have  seen  exemplified  in  the 
designs  of  certain  noblemen,  who,  like  Lord  Burling- 
ton, had  given  their  attention  to  this  study.  A  know- 
ledge of  arrangement  or  disposition  is,  of  all  others, 
the  most  useful ;  and  this  must  extend  to  external 
appendages  as  well  as  to  internal  accommodation. 

This  knowledge  cannot  be  acquired  without  ob- 
serving and  comparing  various  houses  under  various 
circumstances  ;  not  occasionally  only,  but  the  architect 


Theory  and  Practice  191 

must  be  in  the  habit  of  living  much  in  the  country  and 
with  the  persons  for  whom  he  is  to  build,  by  which 
alone  he  can  know  their  various  wants  with  respect  to 
comfort  as  well  as  to  appearance;  otherwise  he  will, 
like  an  ordinary  builder,  be  satisfied  in  shewing  his 
skill  by  compressing  the  whole  of  his  house  and  offices 
under  one  compact  roof,  without  considering  aspect, 
views,  approaches,  gardens,  or  even  the  shape  of  the 
ground  on  which  the  house  is  to  be  built. 

It  is  impossible  to  fix  or  describe  the  situation  appli- 
cable to  a  house  without  at  the  same  time  describing 
the  sort  of  house  applicable  to  the  situation.  This  is 
so  evident  that  it  scarcely  requires  to  be  pointed  out; 
yet  I  have  often  witnessed  the  absurdity  of  designs  for 
a  house  where  the  builder  had  never  seen  the  situation. 
I  have,  therefore,  long  been  compelled  to  make  archi- 
tecture a  branch  of  my  own  profession. 

Having  occasionally  observed  the  various  modes  by 
which  large  houses  and  their  appendages  have  been 
connected  at  various  periods,  it  may  not  be  uninter- 
esting if  I  attempt  to  describe  them  by  reference  to  the 
annexed  plans.    [Plate  xvii.] 

No.  I.  The  earliest  form  of  houses,  or,  rather,  of 
palaces,  in  the  country,  prior  to  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
consisted  of  apartments  built  round  a  large  square  court. 
These  were  formerly  either  castles  or  abbeys,  and  often 
received  all  their  light  from  the  inner  courts ;  but, 
when  afterwards  converted  into  habitations,  windows 
were  opened  on  the  outside  of  the  building.  The  views 
from  a  window  were  of  little  consequence  at  a  time 
when  glass  was  hardly  transparent,  and  in  many  of  the 
ancient  castles  the  small  lozenge  panes  were  glazed 
with  coloured  glass  or  painted  with  the  armorial  bear- 
ings,   which    admitted    light   without    any    prospect. 


192         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

Perhaps  there  is  no  form  better  calculated  for  con- 
venience of  habitation  than  a  house  consisting  of  one 
or  more  of  these  courts,  provided  the  dimensions  are 
such  as  to  admit  free  circulation  of  air,  because,  in 
such  a  house,  the  apartments  are  all  easily  connected 
with  each  other,  and  may  have  a  passage  of  communi- 
cation for  servants  from  every  part.  Of  this  kind  are 
the  old  palaces  at  Hampton  Court  and  St.  James's,  of 
Penshurst  and  Knowle  in  Kent,  Warwick  Castle,  and 
various  other  ancient  mansions. 

No.  2.  Houses  of  the  next  form  I  consider  as  of 
later  date,  although,  from  the  various  subsequent  alter- 
ations, it  is  difficult  to  define  their  original  shapes  : 
they  seem  to  have  had  one  side  of  the  quadrangle 
opened,  and  thus  the  line  of  communication  being 
cut  off,  this  sort  of  house  becomes  less  commodious 
in  proportion  to  the  length  of  its  projecting  sides.  Of 
this  description  were  Cobham  Hall  and  Cashiobury, 
to  both  of  which  have  been  judiciously  added  square 
courts  of  offices,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  James 
Wyatt. 

No.  3  is  a  form  introduced  in  the  reign  of  James  I, 
with  the  quadrangle  so  small  that  it  is  often  damp 
and  dark;  of  this  kind  are  Crewe,  Hill  Hall,  Gay- 
hurst,  and  Culford  ;  although  the  latter  has  been  mod- 
ernised and  changed  to  the  form.  No.  7.  Houses  of 
this  shape  may  sometimes  be  greatly  improved  by 
covering  the  inner  court  entirely,  and  converting  it 
into  a  hall  of  communication  ;  this  I  advised  at  Sarsden, 
a  house  of  later  date.  The  offices  are  generally  attached 
to  the  side  of  these  houses.  In  mansions  of  the  fore- 
going three  descriptions,  a  mixture  of  Grecian  with 
Gothic  is  often  observed,  particularly  in  those  repaired 
by  Inigo  Jones. 


H=n 


'^' 


t^^^Sis^S^ 


Plate  XVII.     Plans  of  houses  of  various  dates 


Theory  and  Practice  193 

No.  4,  the  form  next  in  succession,  was  of  the  date 
of  WilHam  III  and  George  I,  and  has  been  com- 
monly called  an  H,  or  half  H.  This  kind  of  house  is 
often  rendered  very  inconvenient  by  the  centre  being 
one  great  hall,  which  breaks  the  connexion  of  apart- 
ments abovestairs.  It  is  also  further  objectionable  because 
it  is  a  mere  single  house  in  the  centre  and  must  have 
offices  attached  on  one  side  :  of  this  description  are 
Stoke  Park,  Langley,  Glemham  Hall,  Dullingham, 
and  Condover. 

No.  5.  When  the  Italian  or  Grecian  architecture 
became  more  general,  a  greater  display  of  facade  was 
introduced  than  the  body  of  the  house  required ; 
the  offices  and  appendages  were,  therefore,  made  in 
wings  to  extend  the  design,  as  at  Wentworth  House, 
Wimpole,  Attingham,  Dyrham  Park,  and  numerous 
others. 

A  house  on  this  plan,  if  it  commands  only  one  view, 
may  be  less  objectionable;  but  when  applied  to  situa- 
tions where  the  windows  are  to  look  in  opposite  direc- 
tions, it  becomes  very  inconvenient,  because  the  offices 
want  that  uninterrupted  communication  which  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  comfort  of  a  dwelling.  After  the 
views  from  the  windows  became  an  object  of  considera- 
tion, it  was  not  deemed  sufficient  to  preserve  the  views 
to  the  north  and  to  the  south,  but  even  the  views  to 
the  east  and  to  the  west  were  attempted  to  be  preserved, 
and  this  introduced  the  plan.  No.  6. 

No.  6  has  wings,  not  in  the  same  line  with  the 
house,  but  receding  from  it,  which,  of  course,  destroy 
the  symmetry  proposed  by  wings,  unless  the  whole  be 
viewed  from  one  particular  point  in  the  centre;  of  this 
form  are  Merley,  Newton  Park,  Normanton,  Lathom 
House,  etc.   The  houses  built  by  Paine  and  Leadbetter 


194         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

are  frequent  instances  of  want  of  comfort  in  the  two 
latter  forms. 

No.  7  is  a  form  so  generally  adopted  in  modern 
houses  that  I  will  not  mention  any  particular  instances, 
especially  as  they  are  the  works  of  living  architects; 
yet  I  hope  I  shall  be  pardoned  in  also  making  some 
observations  on  their  construction. 

This  last  invented  form  consists  in  a  compact  square 
house,  with  three  fronts,  and  to  the  back  are  attached 
offices,  forming  a  very  long  range  of  buildings,  courts, 
walls,  etc.,  supposed  to  be  hid  by  plantation.  These  I  have 
been  often  required  to  hide  by  planting,  while,  in  fact, 
during  the  lives  of  the  architect  and  the  proprietor, 
the  buildings  can  never  be  concealed,  and  in  the  lives 
of  their  successors  the  trees  must  be  cut  down  to  give 
a  free  circulation  of  air  to  the  buildings. 

Notwithstanding  the  danger  of  giving  offence,  when 
I  am  obliged  to  speak  of  the  works  of  living  artists, 
I  shall  venture  to  point  out  some  objections  to  the 
compact  form.  No.  7,  as  applied  to  a  large  mansion, 
which  have  not  an  equal  weight  when  applied  to  a  villa 
or  a  house  near  the  city,  where  land  is  valued  by  the 
foot,  and  not  by  the  acre ;  for  however  ingenious 
it  may  be  in  such  places  to  compress  a  large  house 
within  a  small  compass,  or  to  cover  under  the  same  roof 
a  great  number  of  rooms,  yet  a  mansion  in  a  park 
does  not  require  such  management  or  warrant  such 
economy  of  space. 

Of  all  the  forms  which  can  be  adopted,  there  is  none 
so  insignificant  as  a  cube,  because,  however  large  it  may 
be,  the  eye  can  never  be  struck  with  its  length,  its  depth, 
or  its  height,  these  being  all  equal ;  and  the  same  quan- 
tity of  building  which  is  often  sunk  underground,  raised 
in  the  air,  or  concealed  in  plantation,  might  have  been 


Theory  and  Practice 


9S 


extended,  to  appear  four  times  as  large,  with  less  expense 
and  more  internal  convenience. 

A  house  in  the  country  is  so  different  from  a  house 
in  town  that  I  never  could  see  any  good  reason  for 
disposing  the  living-rooms  abovestairs.  It  may  per- 
haps be  said  that  the  views  are  more  perfect  from  the 
higher  level,  but  the  same  degree  of  elevation  may  be 
obtained  by  building  the  cellars  aboveground,  and 
afterwards  raising  the  earth  above  them,  as  I  advised 
at  Donnington  and  Blaize  Castle;  and  surely  the  in- 
convenience of  an  external  staircase  can  scarcely  be 
compensated  by  any  improvement  of  the  views.  To 
counteract  this  error  in  modern  houses,  1  have,  in 
some  instances,  raised  the  earth  to  the  principal  floor; 
and,  in  others,  where  the  architecture  would  not  allow 
this  expedient,  I  have  advised  a  gallery  to  be  added,  as 
at  Hooton  and  Higham  Hill. 

Few  subjects  having  occurred  in  which  I  have  so  fully 
discussed  the  proper  situation  for  a  house  and  all  its 
appendages  as  that  of  Michel  Grove,  I  shall  subjoin 
the  following  extract  from  that  Red  Book: 

There  is  no  circumstance  connected  with  my  pro- 
fession in  which  I  find  more  error  of  judgement  than  in 
selecting  the  situation  for  a  house,  yet  it  is  a  subject 
every  one  fancies  easy  to  determine.  Not  only  visitors 
and  men  of  taste  fall  into  this  error,  but  the  carpenter, 
the  land-steward,  or  the  nurseryman  feels  himself  equally 
competent  to  pronounce  on  this  subject.  No  sooner 
has  he  discovered  a  spot  commanding  an  extensive 
prospect  than  he  immediately  pronounces  that  spot  the 
true  situation  for  a  house;  as  if  the  only  use  of  a  man- 
sion, like  that  of  a  prospect-tower,  was  to  look  out  of 
the  windows."** 


196         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

After  long  experiencing  the  many  inconveniences  to 
which  lofty  situations  are  exposed  ;  after  frequently  wit- 
nessing the  repentance  and  vexation  of  those  who  have 
hastily  made  choice  of  such  situations,  under  the  flatter- 
ing circumstances  of  a  clear  atmosphere  and  brilliant 
sky;  after  observing  how  willingly  they  would  exchange 
prospect  for  shade  and  shelter,  and,  after  vainly  looking 
forward  to  the  effect  of  future  groves,  I  am  convinced 
that  it  is  better  to  decide  the  situation  of  a  house  when 
the  weather  is  unfavourable  to  distant  prospects,  and 
when  the  judgement  may  be  able  to  give  its  due  weight 
to  every  circumstance  which  ought  to  be  considered  in 
so  material  an  object,  that  the  comforts  of  habitation 
may  not  be  sacrificed  to  the  fascinating  glare  of  a 
summer's  day.  From  these  considerations,  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  assert  that  if  no  house  existed  at  Michel 
Grove,  the  sheltered  situation  of  the  present  magnifi- 
cent and  singular  mansion  [Plate  xviii]  is  greatly  to  be 
preferred  to  any  spot  that  could  be  found  on  the  hill, 
every  part  of  which  is  more  or  less  exposed  to  the 
force  of  the  winds  from  the  southwest.  I  shall,  there- 
fore, inquire  into  the  character  of  the  present  house,  and 
consider  how  far  the  old  mansion  may  be  rendered  con- 
venient and  adapted  to  modern  comforts. 

There  are  few  old  mansions  in  England  which  have 
not  been  either  castles  or  monasteries  altered  into  houses, 
but  there  is  no  trace  of  this  house  ever  having  been 
either ;  and,  indeed,  its  situation  in  a  dry  valley  is  unlike 
that  of  any  abbey,  and  it  is  so  immediately  commanded 
by  the  surrounding  hills  that  it  never  could  have  been 
a  castle  or  place  of  defence. 

The  proposed  addition  of  a  drawing-room,  an  ante- 
room, and  an  eating-room  of  large  dimensions  will  alter 
those  relative  proportions  now  so  pleasing.   It  is  not, 


Theory  and  Practice  197 

therefore,  with  a  view  of  improving,  but  with  that  of 
doing  as  little  injury  as  possible  to  its  appearance  that 
I  venture  to  suggest  the  additions  in  the  annexed 
sketch ;  because  the  terrace  will  tend  to  preserve  the 
apparent  height,  which  the  additions  to  the  east  tend 
to  destroy. 

The  present  style  of  living  in  the  country  is  so 
different  from  that  of  former  times  that  there  are  few 
houses  of  ancient  date  which  would  be  habitable,  with- 
out great  alterations  and  additions.  Such,  indeed,  is 
the  constant  fluctuation  in  the  habits  and  customs  of 
mankind,  and  so  great  the  change  in  the  luxuries,  the 
comforts,  and  even  the  wants  of  a  more  refined  people, 
that  it  is,  in  these  times,  impossible  to  live  in  the  bar- 
onial castle,  the  secularized  abbey,  or  even  in  the  more 
modern  palaces,  built  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth, 
preserving  all  the  apartments  to  their  original  uses. 

The  chief  rooms  formerly  required  in  a  house  of  that 
date  were : 

The  Hall,  for  the  entertainment  of  friends  and  vas- 
sals; a  large  and  lofty  room,  having  the  floor  at  one  end 
raised  above  the  common  level,  as  at  present  in  the  halls 
of  our  colleges  ;  this  was  to  mark  some  distinction  in 
the  diff^erent  ranks  of  the  guests. 

The  next  large  room  required  was  a  Gallery,  for  the 
reception  of  company  in  a  morning,  for  dancing  in  the 
evening,  and  for  the  exercise  of  the  family  within  doors. 
Very  few  books  were  then  in  use ;  and,  instead  of  the 
newspapers  and  pamphlets  of  the  present  day,  the  gen- 
eral information  was  collected  in  conversations  held  in 
those  long  galleries,  which  had  large  recesses,  or  bays, 
sometimes  called  bowre-windows,  and  now  bow-win- 
dows; into  which  some  of  the  company  would  occa- 
sionally withdraw,  for  conversation  of  a  more  private 


198         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

nature,  as  we  frequently  read  in  the  "  Memoires  de 
Sully,"  etc. 

But  the  apartment,  of  all  others,  which  was  deemed 
indispensable  in  former  times,  and  in  which  the  mag- 
nificence of  the  proprietor  was  greatly  displayed,  was 
the  Chapel. 

The  other  apartments  were  one  or  more  small  par- 
lours, for  the  use  of  the  ladies  and  their  female  attend- 
ants, in  which  they  carried  on  their  various  works  of 
embroidery,  etc.,  and,  instead  of  the  present  dressing- 
room  and  sitting-rooms,  which  are  added  to  each  mod- 
ern bedroom,  there  was  generally  a  small  closet  to  each, 
with  perhaps  an  oriel  window  for  private  morning  de- 
votions. 

After  thus  mentioning  the  uses  of  ancient  apartments, 
it  is  necessary  to  enumerate  those  additions  which  mod- 
ern life  requires,  ist.  The  eating-room,  which  does  not 
exactly  correspond  with  the  ancient  hall,  because  it  is  no 
longer  the  fashion  to  dine  in  public;  2d,  the  library, 
into  which  the  gallery  may  sometimes  be  changed  with 
propriety;  3d,  the  drawing-room,  or  saloon;  4th,  the 
music-room ;  5th,  the  billiard-room  ;  6th,  the  conserv- 
atory attached  to  the  house ;  and,  lastly,  the  boudoirs, 
wardrobes,  hot  and  cold  baths,  etc.,  which  are  all 
modern  appendages,  unknown  in  Queen  Elizabeth's 
days.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  difficult  to  pre- 
serve the  ancient  style  of  a  mansion  without  considerable 
additions.  For  this  reason  we  see  few  specimens  of 
Gothic  buildings  which  have  not  been  mixed  and  cor- 
rupted with  the  architecture  of  various  dates;  and  whilst 
every  casual  observer  may  be  struck  with  the  incon- 
gruity of  mixing  the  Grecian  with  the  Gothic  styles, 
yet  the  nice  antiquarian  alone  discovers,  by  the  contour 
of  a  moulding,  or  the  shape  of  a  battlement,  that  mix- 


Theory  and  Practice  199 

ture  of  the  castle  and  abbey  Gothic,  which  is  equally 
incorrect  with  respect  to  their  different  dates  and  pur- 
poses. 

The  view  of  this  house  will,  I  hope,  justify  my  anxiety 
to  preserve  it,  as  far  as  may  be  consistent  with  modern 
habitation :  for  although  it  can  neither  be  deemed  a  cas- 
tle, an  abbey,  or  a  house  of  any  Gothic  character  with 
which  we  are  acquainted,  yet  its  form  is  singularly  pic- 
turesque ;  and  the  plate  shews  the  effect  of  removing  the 
present  road,  walls,  and  stables,  which  would  obstruct 
the  view  from  the  new  apartments. 

In  determining  the  situation  for  a  large  house  in  the 
country,  there  are  other  circumstances  to  be  considered 
besides  the  offices  and  appendages  immediately  con- 
tiguous. These  have  so  often  occurred  that  I  have 
established,  in  imagination,  certain  positions  for  each, 
which  I  have  never  found  so  capable  of  being  realized 
as  at  Michel  Grove. 

I  would  place  the  house  with  its  principal  front  to- 
wards the  south  or  southeast. 

I  would  build  the  offices  behind  the  house;  but,  as 
they  occupy  much  more  space,  they  will,  of  course, 
spread  wider  than  the  front. 

I  would  place  the  stables  near  the  offices. 

I  would  place  the  kitchen-garden  near  the  stables. 

I  would  put  the  home-farm  buildings  at  rather  a 
greater  distance  from  the  house ;  but  these  several  ob- 
jects should  be  so  connected  by  back  roads  as  to  be 
easily  accessible. 

I  would  bring  the  park  to  the  very  front  of  the 
house. 

I  would  keep  the  farm,  or  land  in  tillage,  whether 
for  use  or  for  experiment,  behind  the  house. 


200         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

I  would  make  the  dressed  pleasure-ground,  to  the 
right  and  left  of  the  house,  in  plantations  which  would 
screen  the  unsightly  appendages,  and  form  the  natural 
division  between  the  park  and  the  farm,  with  walks 
communicating  to  the  garden  and  the  farm. 

It  will  be  found  that  these  are  exactly  the  positions 
of  all  the  appendages  at  Michel  Grove.  But,  in  sup- 
port of  my  opinion,  it  may  be  proper  to  give  some 
reasons  for  the  choice  of  these  general  positions. 

1.  The  aspect  of  a  house  requires  the  first  consid- 
eration, since  no  beauty  of  prospect  can  compensate 
for  the  cold  exposure  to  the  north,  the  glaring  blaze  of 
a  setting  sun,  or  the  frequent  boisterous  winds  and  rains 
from  the  west  and  southwest ;  while,  in  a  southern 
aspect,  the  sun  is  too  high  to  be  troublesome  in  sum- 
mer, and  during  the  winter  it  is  seldom  an  unwelcome 
visitant  in  the  climate  of  England. 

2,  3.  It  can  hardly  be  necessary  to  enumerate  the 
advantages  of  placing  the  offices  near  and  stables  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  house. 

4.  The  many  interesting  circumstances  that  lead  us 
into  a  kitchen-garden,  the  many  inconveniences  which 
I  have  witnessed  from  the  removal  of  old  gardens  to 
a  distance,  and  the  many  instances  in  which  I  have  been 
desired  to  bring  them  back  to  their  original  situations, 
have  led  me  to  conclude  that  a  kitchen-garden  cannot 
be  too  near,  if  it  be  not  seen  from  the  house. 

5.  So  much  of  the  comfort  of  a  country  residence 
depends  on  the  produce  of  its  home-farm  that  even  if 
the  proprietor  of  the  mansion  should  have  no  pleasure 
in  the  fashionable  experiments  in  husbandry,  yet  a  farm, 
with  all  its  appendages,  is  indispensable:  but  when 
this  is  considered  as  an  object  of  profit,  the  gentleman- 
farmer  commonly  mistakes  his  aims ;   and  as  an  object 


Theory  and  Practice  201 

of  ornament,  I  hope  the  good  taste  of  the  country  will 
never  confound  the  character  of  a  park  with  that  of 
a  farm. 

To  every  dwelling  there  must  belong  certain  un- 
sightly premises  which  can  never  be  properly  orna- 
mental, such  as  yards  for  coal,  wood,  linen,  etc.,  and 
these  are  more  than  doubled  when  the  farmhouse  is 
contiguous ;  for  this  reason  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
farming  premises  should  be  at  a  greater  distance  than 
the  kitchen-garden  or  the  stables,  which  have  a  more 
natural  connexion  with  each  other. 

The  small  pool  in  front  of  the  house  has  been  pur- 
posely left,  not  as  an  object  of  beauty  in  itself,  but  as 
the  source  of  great  beauty  to  the  scenery  ;  for  in  the 
dry  valleys  of  Sussex  such  a  pond,  however  small,  will 
invite  the  deer  and  cattle  to  frequent  the  lawn  in  front  of 
the  house,  and  add  to  the  view,  motion,  and  animation. 

Those  who  only  remember  the  former  approaches 
to  this  house,  over  lofty  downs,  with  a  dangerous  road 
to  descend,  will  hardly  believe  that  this  venerable  man- 
sion is  not  situated  in  the  bottom,  but  at  the  extremity 
of  a  valley;  for  in  reality  the  house  is  on  the  side  of 
a  hill,  and  by  the  proposed  line  of  approach  it  will 
appear  that  it  actually  stands  on  a  considerable  emi- 
nence, the  road  ascending  along  the  whole  course  of 
the  valley  for  more  than  a  mile.*^ 

A  house  extended  in  length  may  be  objectionable  in 
many  situations,  but  when  built  on  the  side  of  a  hill, 
if  the  ground  rises  boldly  behind  it,  the  objection  to  it 
as  a  single  house  is  removed. 

Where  a  house,  like  that  at  Garnons,  by  its  situa- 
tion and  southern  aspect,  will  constantly  be  a  marked 
feature  from  the  surrounding  country,  presenting  only 


101 


The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardei 


one  front  embosomed  in  wood,  that  front  should  be  so 
extended  as  to  distinguish  the  site  of  the  mansion  with 
adequate  importance. 

In  such  a  situation  it  would  be  difficult  to  produce 
the  same  greatness  of  character  by  a  regular  Grecian 
edifice;  that  will  be  effected  by  the  irregularity  of  out- 
line in  the  proposed  house,  offices,  and  stables  ;  and 
in  defence  of  this  picturesque  style  I  shall  take  the 
liberty  to  transcribe,  in  a  note,"**  the  very  judicious 
remarks  of  R.  L.  Girardin,  Viscomte  d'Ermenonville. 

A  plan  of  the  house  proposed  for  this  situation  is 
added  [Fig.  24],  to  shew  how  conveniently  the  com- 


Fig.  24.    Examples  of  a  plan  for  an  extended  front  on  the  steep  side  of  a  hill. 

forts  of  modern  habitations  may  be  adapted  to  an- 
cient magnificence ;  and  I  rejoice  in  observing  that 
many  large  houses  are  at  this  time  building,  or  alter- 
ing, in  this  irregular  stvle,  under  the  direction  of  one 
of  our  most  eminent  architects.  I  may  mention  those  of 
Cashiobury  and  Wickham  Market,  which  disdain  the 
spruce  affectation  of  symmetry  so  fatal  to  the  Gothic 
character. 

When  a  house,  as  in  the  foregoing  instance,  is  to  be 
built  on  the  side  of  a  hill  or  on  an  inclined  plane,  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  dispose  it  in  any  other  form  than 
that  of  an  extended  front :  but  this  supposes  a  certain 


Theory  and  Practice  203 

degree  of  property  to  belong  to  the  house,  or  it  is 
apt  to  appear  too  large  for  the  annexed  estate.  This 
objection  is,  however,  less  forcible  in  a  villa  than  in 
a  mansion  ;  yet  even  a  villa  which  covers  too  much  of 
its  own  field  or  lawn  partakes  more  of  ostentation  than 
good  taste. 

A  field  of  a  few  acres,  called  Brentry  Hill,  near 
Bristol,  commands  a  most  pleasing  and  extensive 
view.  In  the  foreground  are  the  rich  woods  of  King's 
Weston  and  Blaize  Castle,  with  the  picturesque  assem- 


Fig.  25.    Villa    at    Brentry  Hill,   shewing  specimens  of  economy  with    compactness 
adapted  to  its  situation,  character,  and  uses. 

blage  of  gardens  and  villas  in  Henbury  and  Westbury; 
beyond  which  are  the  Severn  and  Bristol  Channel,  and 
the  prospect  is  bounded  by  the  mountains  of  South 
Wales.  This  view  is  towards  the  west,  and  I  have 
generally  observed  that  the  finest  prospects  in  England 
are  all  towards  this  point.'*^  Yet  this,  of  all  aspects,  is 
the  most  unpleasant  for  a  house  ;  it  was  not,  therefore, 
advisable  to  give  an  extended  front  in  this  direction, 
yet  it  would  have  been  unpardonable  not  to  have 
taken  advantage  of  so  fine  a  prospect. 

A  compact  plan   often  demands  more  trouble  and 


204 


The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 


contrivance  than  a  design  for  a  palace,  in  which  the 
rooms  may  be  so  numerous  that  different  apartments 
may  be  provided  for  summer  and  for  winter  use;  but 
where  compactness  and  economy  are  studied,  some 
contrivance  is  necessary  to  avail  ourselves  of  views  and 
aspects,  without  sacrificing  convenience  and  relative 
fitness  to  the  beauty  of  the  prospect. 


'^**V* 


Fig.  26.    Ground-plan  of  Villa  at  Brentry  Hill, 
a.  Breakfast-room  ;  A,  drawing-room,  opening,  with  folding  doors,  to  a  small  library;  c,  eating- 
room  ;  d,  kitchen  ;  «,  kitchen  court ;  /,  drying-ground  ;  g,  part  of  the  kitchen-garden  ;  ^i,  stable 
court 

Under  this  restraint  perhaps  few  houses  have  been 
built  with  more  attention  to  the  situation  and  circum- 
stances of  the  place  than  the  villa  at  Brentry  [Figs.  25 
and  26].  The  eating-room  is  to  the  north,  with  one 
window  towards  the  prospect,  which  may  be  opened  or 
shut  out  by  Venetian  blinds  at  pleasure.  The  break- 
fast-room is  towards  the  south,  and  the  drawing-room 
towards  the  prospect. 

Modern  habits  have  altered  the  uses  of  a  drawing- 


Theory  and  Practice  205 

room;  formerly,  the  best  room  in  the  house  was  opened 
only  a  few  days  in  each  year,  where  the  guests  sat  in 
a  formal  circle,  but  now  the  largest  and  best  room 
in  a  gentleman's  house  is  that  most  frequented  and 
inhabited:  it  is  filled  with  books,  musical  instruments, 
tables  of  every  description,  and  whatever  can  contribute 
to  the  comfort  or  amusement  of  the  guests,  who 
form  themselves  into  groups  at  different  parts  of  the 
room  ;  and  in  winter,  by  the  help  of  two  fireplaces, 
the  restraint  and  formality  of  the  circle  is  done  away. 

This  has  been  often  happily  effected  in  old  houses 
by  laying  two  rooms  together,  preserving  the  fireplaces 
in  their  original  situations,  without  regard  to  correspond- 
ence in  size  or  place.  But  two  fires  not  being  wanted  in 
summer,  a  provision  is  made  in  this  villa  to  preserve 
an  additional  window  towards  the  fine  prospect  at  that 
season  of  the  year;  and  the  panel  which  ornaments  the 
end  of  the  room  may  be  removed  in  winter,  when  the 
window  will  be  less  desirable  than  a  fireplace ;  thus  the 
same  room  will  preserve,  in  every  season,  its  advant- 
ages of  aspects  and  of  views,  while  its  elegance  may  be 
retained  without  increasing  the  number  of  rooms  for 
different  purposes.  This  attention  to  the  wants  of  dif- 
ferent seasons  has  been  too  little  studied  in  this  country, 
whilst  in  France  almost  every  large  house  has  its  gar- 
den tapissier^  whose  business  it  is  to  change  the  furniture 
of  the  apartments  for  summer  and  winter.  Those  who 
have  compared  the  fitting-up  of  rooms  in  France  with 
that  of  any  other  country  of  Europe  must,  doubtless, 
give  the  preference  to  French  taste,  as  far  as  it  relates 
to  the  union  of  internal  magnificence  and  comfort;  but 
those  architects  who  copy  both  the  inside  and  outside 
of  Italian  houses  should  at  least  provide  for  such  occa- 
sional alterations  as  our  climate  may  require. 


2o6         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

Another  circumstance  may  be  mentioned,  in  which 
economy  has  been  consulted  at  this  small  villa.  More 
rooms  are  generally  required  on  the  chamber  than  on 
the  ground  floor;  yet,  except  the  kitchen,  there  is  no 
part  of  a  house  which  ought  properly  to  be  so  lofty  as 
the  principal  rooms  ;  instead,  therefore,  of  increasing  the 
quantity  of  offices,  by  what  a  witty  author  calls  "turn- 
ing the  kitchen  out  of  doors  for  smelling  of  victuals," 
this  offence  is  here  avoided  by  the  external  passage  of 
communication. 

The  operations  of  landscape  gardening  have  often 
been  classed  under  the  general  term  of  improvement; 
but  there  are  three  distinct  species.  The  first  relates 
to  places  where  the  grounds  are  altered,  and  adapted  to 
a  house  already  existing;  the  second  to  those  where  the 
houses,  by  additions,  having  changed  their  original 
character  or  aspect,  renders  it  necessary  to  make  alter- 
ations in  the  ground  also  ;  the  third  includes  those  places 
where  no  house  previously  exists,  and  where  the  entire 
plan  of  the  house,  appendages,  and  grounds  has  some- 
times been  called  a  creation.  Of  the  first  kind  it  is 
needless  to  enumerate  examples.  Among  the  second 
may  be  mentioned  those  in  which  the  entrance  of  the 
house  being  changed,  new  rooms  added,  or  barns,  sta- 
bles, and  kitchen-gardens  removed,  new  arrangements 
have  taken  place,  as  at  Abington  Hall,  Clayberry, 
Wallhall,  West-Coker,  Betchworth,  Highlands, 
Brandsbury,  Holwood,  etc.  Of  those  places  which 
may  be  called  creations,  the  number  is  necessarily 
small,  yet  I  may  refer  to  the  following  examples.  In 
some,  where  new  houses  were  built,  I  was  consulted  by 
the  respective  architects  on  the  situation  and  append- 
ages ;  as  at  Bracondale,  Milton  House,  Donnington, 
Buckminster,   Courteen    Hall,    Bank    Farm,   Chilton 


Theory  and  Practice  207 

Lodge,  Dulwich  Casina,  Holme  Park,  Streatham,  The 
Grove,  Southgate,  Luscombe,  etc.  In  others,  I  gave 
general  plans  for  the  whole,  with  the  assistance  of  my 
son  only  in  the  architectural  department,  as  at  Brentry 
Hill,  Cobham  Bank,  Organ  Hall,  Stapleton,  Stratton 
Park,  Scarrisbrick,  Panshanger,  Bayham,  etc. 


Chapter  XIII 

For tn  at  ion  of  a  new  Place  —  Application  of  Garden- 
ing and  Architecture  —  Characteristic  Architecture 
—  How  far  it  should  prevail  internally 


THE  necessity  of  uniting  architecture  and  land- 
scape gardening  is  so  strongly  elucidated  in  the 
Red  Book  of  Bayham  that  I  gladly  avail  myself  of  the 
permission  of  its  noble  possessor  to  insert  the  following 
observations ;  but  as  the  ruins  of  Bayham  Abbey  are 
generally  known  to  those  who  frequent  Tunbridge 
Wells,  it  is  necessary  to  premise  that  the  situation 
proposed  for  a  new  house  is  very  different  from  that 
of  the  abbey. 

No  place  concerning  which  I  have  had  the  honour 
to  be  consulted  possesses  greater  variety  of  water,  with 
such  difference  of  character  as  seldom  occurs  within 
the  limits  of  the  same  estate.  The  water  near  the 
abbey,  now  intersecting  the  meadow  in  various  chan- 
nels, should  be  brought  together  into  one  river,  wind- 
ing through  the  valley  in  a  natural  course  :  this  may 
be  so  managed  as  to  drain  the  land  while  it  improves 
the  scenery  ;  and  I  suppose  the  whole  of  this  valley 
to  be  a  more  highly  dressed  lawn,  fed  by  sheep  and 
cattle,  but  without  deer. 

Above  this  natural  division  the  water  will  assume 
a  bolder  character  ;  that  of  a  lake  or  a  broad  river,  filling 
the  entire  bottom  of  the  valley,  between  two  wooded 
shores,  and  dashing  the  foot  of  that  steep  bank  on 
which  the  mansion  is  proposed  to  be  erected.    This 


Theory  and  Practice  209 

valley  is  so  formed  by  nature  that  an  inconsiderable 
dam  will  cause  a  lake  or  rather  broad  river  of  great 
apparent  extent:  for  when  1  describe  water,  I  never 
estimate  its  effects  by  the  number  of  acres  it  may  cover, 
but  by  its  form,  its  continuity,  and  the  facility  with 
which  its  termination  is  concealed. 

Where  a  place  is  rather  to  be  formed  than  improved, 
that  is,  where  no  mansion  already  exists,  the  choice 
of  situation  for  the  house  will  in  some  measure  depend 
on  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  intended  and  the  char- 
acter it  ought  to  assume  :  thus  a  mansion,  a  villa,  and 
a  sporting-seat  require  very  different  adaptation  of  the 
same  principles,  if  not  a  variation  in  the  principles 
themselves.  The  purpose  for  which  the  house  at  Bay- 
ham  is  intended  must  decide  its  character:  it  is  not 
to  be  considered  as  a  small  villa,  liable  to  change  its 
proprietor,  as  good  or  ill  success  prevails,  but  as  the 
established  mansion  of  an  English  nobleman's  family. 
Its  character,  therefore,  should  be  that  of  greatness 
and  of  durability.  The  park  should  be  a  forest,  the 
estate  a  domain,  the  house  a  palace.  Now,  since  magni- 
ficence and  compactness  are  as  diametrically  opposite 
to  each  other  as  extension  and  contraction,  so  neither 
the  extended  scale  of  the  country  nor  the  style  nor  the 
character  of  the  place  will  admit  of  a  compact  house. 

In  determining  effects,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  consider 
merely  the  size  of  the  building;  but  as  all  objects 
appear  great  or  small  only  by  comparison,  it  is  also 
necessary  to  consider  the  size  and  character  of  those  by 
which  this  mansion  will  be  accompanied. 

The  surrounding  scenery  of  Bayham  must  influence 
the  character  of  the  house  ;  we  must  therefore  consider 
what  style  of  architecture  will  here  be  most  appro- 
priate.      There    has  ever  appeared    to  me  something 


The  Art  of  Landscape  Garden] 


wrong  or  misunderstood  in  the  manner  of  adapting 
Grecian  architecture  to  our  large  mansions  in  the 
country:  our  professors,  having  studied  from  models 
in  a  different  climate,  often  forget  the  difference  of 
circumstances  and  shew  their  classic  taste,  like  those 
who  correctly  quote  the  words,  but  misapply  the  sense 
of  an  author.  The  most  striking  feature  of  Grecian 
architecture  is  a  portico,  and  this,  when  it  forms  part 
of  a  temple  or  a  church,  may  be  applied  with  pro- 
priety and  grandeur ;  but  when  added  to  a  large  house 
and  intersected  by  two  or  three  rows  of  windows,  it  is 
evidently  what,  in  French,  is  called  an  applique,  some- 
thing added,  an  afterthought ;  and  it  has  but  too  often 
the  appearance  of  a  Grecian  temple  affixed  to  an  English 
cotton-mill. 

There  is  also  another  circumstance  belonging  to 
Grecian  architecture,  viz.  symmetry,  or  an  exact  corre- 
spondence of  the  sides  with  each  other.  Symmetry 
appears  to  constitute  a  part  of  that  love  of  order  so 
natural  to  man;  the  first  idea  of  a  child,  in  drawing 
a  house,  is  to  make  the  windows  correspond,  and 
perhaps  to  add  two  correspondent  wings. 

There  are,  however,  some  situations  where  great 
magnificence  and  convenience  are  the  result  of  a 
building  of  this  description;  yet  it  can  only  be  the 
case  where  the  house  is  so  large  that  one  of  the  wings 
may  contain  a  complete  suite  of  private  apartments, 
connected  with  the  house  by  a  gallery  or  library,  while 
the  other  may  consist  of  a  conservatory,  etc. 

Every  one  who  has  observed  the  symmetrical  ele- 
vations scattered  round  the  metropolis,  and  the  small 
houses  with  wings  in  the  neighbourhood  of  manufac- 
turing towns,  will  allow  that  symmetry  so  applied  is 
apt    to    degenerate  into  spruceness ;    and    of  the    in- 


Theory  and  Practice 


convenience  of  a  house,  separated  from  its  offices  by 
a  long  passage  (however  dignified  by  the  name  of  col- 
onnade), there  cannot  surely  be  a  question.  There 
is  yet  another  principle  which  applies  materially  to 
Bayham,  viz.  that  symmetry  makes  an  extensive  build- 
ing look  small,  while  irregularity  will,  on  the  contrary, 
make  a  small  building  appear  large:  a  symmetrical 
house  would,  therefore,  ill  accord  with  the  character 
of  the  surrounding  country. 

Having  expressed  these  objections  against  the  appli- 
cation of  Grecian  architecture,  before  I  describe  any 
other  style  of  house,  I  shall  introduce  some  remarks 
on  a  subject  which  has  much  engaged  my  attention, 
viz.  the  adaptation  of  buildings  not  only  to  the  situa- 
tion, character,  and  circumstances  of  the  scenery,  but 
also  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  are  intended  ;  this 
I  shall  call  characteristic  architecture. 

Although  it  is  obvious  that  every  building  ought 
"  to  tell  its  own  tale,"  and  not  to  look  like  anything 
else,  yet  this  principle  appears  to  have  been  lately  too 
often  violated :  our  hospitals  resemble  palaces,  and 
our  palaces  may  be  mistaken  for  hospitals;  our  modern 
churches  look  like  theatres,  and  our  theatres  appear 
like  warehouses.  In  surveying  the  public  buildings 
of  the  metropolis,  we  admire  St.  Luke's  Hospital  as 
a  madhouse,  and  Newgate  as  a  prison,  because  they 
both  announce  their  purposes  by  their  appropriate 
appearance,  and  no  stranger  has  occasion  to  inquire  for 
what  uses  they  are  intended. 

From  the  palace  to  the  cottage,  this  principle  should 
be  observed.  Whether  we  take  our  models  from  a  Gre- 
cian temple  or  from  a  Gothic  abbey,  from  a  castle  or 
from  a  college,  if  the  building  does  not  look  like  a  house 
and  the  residence  of  a  nobleman,  it  will  be  out  of  char- 


212  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

acter  at  Bay  ham.  It  may  perhaps  be  objected  that  we 
must  exactly  follow  the  models  of  the  style  or  date  we 
mean  to  imitate,  or  else  we  make  a  pasticcio  or  confusion 
of  discordant  parts.  Shall  we  imitate  the  thing  and  for- 
get its  application  ?  No  :  let  us  rather  observe  how,  in 
Warwick  Castle,  and  in  other  great  mansions  of  the 
same  character,the  proud  baronial  retreat  "of  the  times 
of  old"  has  been  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  modern 
habitation.  Let  us  preserve  the  massive  strength  and 
durability  of  the  castle,  and  discard  the  gloom  which 
former  tyranny  and  cruelty  inspired  ;  let  us  preserve 
the  light  elegance  of  Gothic  abbeys  in  our  chapels,  but 
not  in  our  houses,  where  such  large  and  lofty  windows 
are  inadmissible ;  let  us,  in  short,  never  forget  that  we 
are  building  a  house,  whether  we  admire  and  imitate  the 
bold  irregular  outline  of  an  ancient  castle,  the  elegant 
tracery  in  the  windows  of  a  Gothic  church,  or  the  har- 
mony of  proportions  and  the  symmetrical  beauty  of 
a  Grecian  temple. 

Of  the  three  distinct  characters,  the  Castle,  the  Abbey, 
and  the  House-Gothic,  the  former  of  these  appears  best 
calculated  for  Bayham  [Plates  xxi  and  xxii] .  Yet,  as 
the  object  is  not  to  build  a  castle,  but  a  house,  it  is  surely 
allowable  to  blend  with  the  magnificence  of  this  character 
the  advantages  of  the  other  two,  as  well  as  the  elegance, 
the  comfort,  and  the  convenience  of  modern  habitation. 
It  may  be  urged  that  the  first  purpose  of  a  castle  is 
defence ;  that  of  a  house,  habitation ;  but  it  will  surely  be 
allowed  that  something  more  is  required  than  the  mere 
purposes  of  habitation.  An  ordinary  carpenter  may 
build  a  good  room  ;  a  mechanic,  rather  more  ingenious, 
may  connect  a  suite  of  rooms  together,  and  so  arrange 
their  several  offices  and  appendages  as  to  make  a  good 
house,  that  is,  a  house  sufficient  for  all  the  purposes  of 


I  ~. 


Theory  and  Practice 


213 


habitation.  But  an  architect  will  aim  at  something 
higher ;  he  will  add  to  the  internal  convenience,  not 
merely  external  beauty  but  external  propriety  and  char- 
acter ;  he  will  aim  not  only  to  make  a  design  perfect  in 
itself  but  perfect  in  its  application. 

Where  the  lawn,  the  woods,  the  water,  the  whole 
place,  and  the  general  face  of  the  surrounding  country 
are  on  so  extensive  a  scale  the  only  means  of  preserv- 
ing the  same  character  is  by  extending  the  plan  of  the 
house  also.  How  can  this  be  effected  unless  we  adopt 
the  Gothic  style  of  architecture  ?  In  Grecian  or  modern 
buildings  it  has  been  considered  an  essential  part  of 
the  plan  to  conceal  all  the  subordinate  appendages  of 
the  mansion,  such  as  the  stables,  the  offices,  the  garden- 
walls,  etc.;  and  why?  Because  they  neither  do  nor  can 
partake  of  the  character  of  the  house;  and  the  only 
method  by  which  this  extension  of  site  is  usually  ac- 
quired in  a  Grecian  building  is  by  adding  wings  to  the 
house.  Thus  the  same  mistaken  principle  obtains  and 
is  considered  material,  for  it  is  a  part  of  the  duty  of 
these  wings  to  conceal  the  offices.  But  if  continuity  be 
an  essential  cause  of  the  sublime,  if  extension  be  an 
essential  cause  of  magnificence,  whatever  destroys  con- 
tinuity weakens  the  sublime,  and  whatever  destroys 
extension  lessens  magnificence;  therefore,  as  the  offices 
and  courtyards  attached  to  a  house  are  generally  five 
times  more  extensive  than  the  house  itself,  where 
magnificence  is  the  object,  why  neglect  the  most  effect- 
ual means  of  creating  it  ?  viz.  continuity  and  extension, 
blended  with  unity  of  design  and  character;  or,  in  other 
words,  when  it  is  desirable  to  take  advantage  of  every 
part  of  the  buildings,  why  conceal  five  parts  in  six  of 
them  ? 

If  the  truth  of  this  principle  be  allowed,  I  trust  the 


2  14  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

propriety  of  its  application  will  be  obvious;  and,  for  its 
effect,  I  appeal  to  the  accompanying  sketch  [Plate  xxii] 
where  both  the  actual  size  of  the  house  and  its  com- 
parative proportion  to  the  surrounding  scenery  are 
correctly  ascertained. 

However  pleasing  these  representations  may  appear, 
I  should  consider  myself  as  having  planned  a  "castle  in 
the  air,"  unless  it  should  be  proved  that  this  design  is 
not  only  practicable  but  that  itactually  contains  no  more 
building  than  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  purposes 
of  modern  habitation.  By  the  plan,  it  appears  to  con- 
tain : 

A  Gothic  hall,  for  the  sake  of  ancient  grandeur,  but 
leading  through  a  passage  lower  than  the  rooms,  for  the 
sake  of  not  depressing  their  comparative  height.  The 
hall  and  passages  should  be  rather  dimly  lighted  by 
painted  glass,  to  impress  a  degree  of  gloom  essential 
to  grandeur,  and  to  render  the  entrance  into  the  rooms 
more  brilliant  and  cheerful. 

This,  it  may  be  objected,  is  in  character  with  those 
houses  which  Gray  describes  as  having 
**  Windows  that  exclude  the  light. 
And  passages  that  lead  to  nothing." 

Yet  I  trust  these  passages  will  be  found  no  less  useful 
than  magnificent ;  they  lead  to  the  several  rooms,  which 
form  a  complete  suite  of  apartments,  consistingof  eating- 
room,  breakfast-room,  drawing-room,  and  library.  The 
rooms  all  open  by  windows  to  the  floor  on  a  terrace, 
which  may  be  enriched  with  orange-trees  and  odourif- 
erous  flowers,  and  will  form  one  of  the  greatest  lux- 
uries of  modern  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
features  of  ancient  habitation. 

It  now  remains  for  me  to  shew  that  I  have  not  sug- 
gested a  design  more  expensive  than  a  house  of  any 


Plate  XXII.     Plan  of  Bavha 


Theory  and  Practice 


other  character,  containing  the  same  number  of  apart- 
ments. The  chief  difficulty  of  building  arises  from  the 
want  of  materials:  a  house  of  Portland  stone  would  be 
very  expensive;  a  red-brick  house,  as  Mr.  Brown  used 
to  say,  "  puts  the  whole  valley  in  a  fever" ;  a  house  of 
yellow  brick  is  little  better;  and  the  great  Lord  Mans- 
field often  declared  that  had  the  front  of  Kenwood 
been  originally  covered  with  Parian  marble  he  should 
have  found  it  less  expensive  than  stucco.  Yet  one  of 
these  must  be  used  in  any  building  except  a  castle;  but 
for  this  the  rude  stone  of  the  country,  lined  with  bricks, 
or  faced  with  battens,  will  answer  every  purpose;  be- 
cause the  enrichments  are  few,  except  to  the  battle- 
ments and  the  entrance-tower,  which  are  surely  far  less 
expensive  than  a  Grecian  portico. 

The  attached  offices,  forming  a  part  of  the  front,  are 
so  disposed  as  to  lie  perfectly  convenient  to  the  prin- 
cipal floor  and  to  the  private  apartments,  while  the 
detached  offices,  the  courtyards,  and  even  the  garden- 
walls,  may  be  so  constructed  and  arranged  as  to  in- 
crease in  dimensions  the  extent  of  the  castle.  This 
unity  of  design  will  be  extended  from  the  house  to  the 
water,  by  the  boat-house,  the  cold-bath,  and  the  walls, 
with  steps  leading  to  a  bridge,  near  which  the  engine- 
house  may  form  a  barbican,  and  contribute  to  the  mag- 
nificent effect  of  the  picture  as  well  as  to  the  general 
congruity  of  character. 

When  we  look  back  a  few  centuries  and  compare 
the  habits  of  former  times  with  those  of  the  present, 
we  shall  be  apt  to  wonder  at  the  presumption  of  any 
person  who  shall  propose  to  build  a  house  that  may 
suit  the  next  generation.  Who,  in  the  reign  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  would  have  planned  a  library,  a  music-room, 
a  billiard-room,  or  a  conservatory  ?    Yet  these  are  now 


2i6  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

deemed  essential  to  comfort  and  magnificence:  perhaps, 
in  future  ages,  new  rooms  for  new  purposes  will  be 
deemed  equally  necessary.  But  to  a  house  of  perfect 
symmetry  these  can  never  be  added:  yet  it  is  principally 
to  these  additions,  during  a  long  succession  of  years, 
that  we  are  indebted  for  the  magnificent  irregularity 
and  splendid  intricacy  observable  in  the  neighbouring 
palaces  of  Knowle  and  Penshurst.  Under  these  circum- 
stances that  plan  cannot  be  good  which  will  admit  of 
no  alteration. 

♦'  Malum  consilium  est,  quod  non  mutari  potest." 
[It  is  a  bad  counsel  which  cannot  be  changed.] 

But  in  a  house  of  this  irregular  character,  every  sub- 
sequent addition  will  increase  the  importance:  and  if 
I  have  endeavoured  to  adopt  some  of  the  cumbrous 
magnificence  of  former  times,  I  trust  that  no  modern 
conveniences  or  elegances  will  be  unprovided  for. 

It  has  been  doubted  how  far  a  house,  externally 
Gothic,'*^  should  internally  preserve  the  same  character; 
and  the  most  ridiculous  fancies  have  been  occasionally 
introduced  in  libraries  and  eating-rooms,  to  make  them 
appear  of  the  same  date  with  the  towers  and  battlements 
of  a  castle,  without  considering  that  such  rooms  are  of 
modern  invention,  and,  consequently,  the  attempt 
becomes  an  anachronism:  perhaps  the  only  rooms  of 
a  house  which  can,  with  propriety,  be  Gothic,  are  the 
hall,  the  chapel,  and  those  long  passages  which  lead 
to  the  several  apartments;  and  in  these  the  most 
correct  detail  should  be  observed. 


Chapter  XIV 

Conclusion —  Concerning  Colour—^  Difficulty  oj       / 
Comparisons  betwixt  Art  and  Nature  "' 


THE  art  of  painting  has  been  usually  treated 
under  four  distinct  heads,  viz. :  Composition ; 
Design,  or  Drawing  ;  Expression  ;  and  Colouring, — 
each  of  which  may,  in  some  measure,  be  applied  to 
landscape  gardening,  as  it  has  been  treated  in  this 
work. 

Composition  includes  those  observations  on  utility, 
scale,  perspective,  etc.,  contained  in  Chapters  I  and 
II. 

Design  may  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  remarks 
on  water,  woods,  fences,  lines,  etc. ,  contained  in 
Chapters  III,  IV,  V,  VI,  and  VII. 

Expression  includes  all  that  relates  to  character,  situa- 
tion, arrangement,  and  the  adaptation  of  works  of  art 
to  the  scenery  of  nature,  which  have  been  discussed 
in  the  remaining  Chapters  of  this  work  ;  and,  lastly, 

Colouring,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  certain  artificial  objects, 
has  been  mentioned  in  Chapter  XI. 

Having  since  been  led  to  consider  this  subject  more 
attentively,  in  consequence  of  a  conversation  with  Mr. 
Wilberforce  concerning  a  new  theory  of  colours  and 
shadows,  I  have,  through  his  intervention,  obtained 
permission  to  enrich  my  work  with  the  following  curi- 
ous remarks:  and  as  Mr.  Wilberforce,  in  his  letter 
which  enclosed  them,  observes  of  their  reverend  and 


.18         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

earned  author  chat "  he  is  a  man  unequalled  "  "  for  the 
tore  of  knowledge  he  possesses,  for  the  clearness  with 
Vhich  he  views,  and  the  happy  perspicuity  with  which 
le  communicates  his  conceptions,"  so  I  shall  give  this 
^.heory  in  his  own  words/^ 

*  This  curious  and  satisfactory  theory  demonstrates 
that  tfie  choice  of  colours  which  so  often  distinguishes 
good  from  bad  taste  in  manufactures,  furniture,  dress, 
and  in  every  circumstance  where  colour  may  be  arti- 
ficially introduced,  is  not  the  eifect  of  chance  or  fancy, 
but  guided  by  certain  general  laws  of  nature. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  discovered  a  wonderful  coincidence 
between  sound  and  colours,  and  proves  mathematically 
that  the  spaces  occupied  by  the  colours  in  the  prismatic 
spectrum  correspond  with  the  parts  of  a  musical  chord 
when  it  is  so  divided  as  to  sound  the  notes  of  an  octave. 
So  this  resemblance  may  now  be  considered  as  extend- 
ing further,  for,  as  in  music,  so  likewise  in  colours,  it 
will  be  found  that  harmony  consists  in  distance  and 
contrast,  not  in  similitude  or  approximation.  Two  notes 
near  each  other  are  grating  to  the  ear,  and  are  called 
discords  ;  in  like  manner,  two  colours  very  near  each 
other  are  unpleasing  to  the  sight,  and  may  be  called 
discordant ;  this  may  be  proved  by  covering  all  the  col- 
ours in  the  diagram  (See  Note  47,  p.  246)  except  the  two 
adjoining,  which,  in  every  part  of  the  scale,  will  appear 
discordant ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  if  the  two  sides  be 
covered  in  any  direction  so  as  only  to  shew  the  two  op- 
posite colours,  they  will  appear  in  perfect  harmony  with 
each  other ;  and  this  experiment  confirms  the  good 
taste  of  those  who,  in  the  choice  of  colours,  oppose  reds 
to  greens,  yellows  to  purples,  and  blues  to  oranges,  etc. 
But  instead  of  contrasting  these  colours,  they  are  mixed 
or  so  blended  as  not  to  appear  each  distinctly,  as  in 


Theory  and  Practice 


219 


silks  or  linens  where  the  stripes  are  too  narrow ;  when 
seen  at  a  little  distance,  instead  of  relieving,  they  will 
destroy  each  other.  In  the  application  of  this  theory  to 
some  familiar  instances,  particularly  in  the  furniture  of 
rooms,  I  have  observed  that  two  colours,  here  deemed 
discordant,  may  be  used  without  offending  the  eye,  as 
green  and  blue,  or  green  and  yellow ;  but  I  have  always 
considered  such  assortment  intolerable,  unless  one  were 
very  dark  and  the  other  very  light ;  and  thus  the  effect 
is  again  produced  by  contrast,  although  on  a  different 
principle :  it  is  the  contrast,  not  between  colours,  but 
between  light  and  darkness. 

So  far  this  theory  is  perfectly  satisfactory  with  respect 
to  works  of  art,  but,  when  carried  to  those  of  nature, 
I  confess  my  inability  to  reconcile  a  conviction  of  its 
truth  with  certain  appearances  which  seem  to  contra- 
dict it. 

By  the  universal  consent  of  all  who  have  considered 
the  harmony  of  colours,  it  is  allowed  that  in  works  of 
art  the  juxtaposition  of  bright  blues  and  greens  is  dis- 
cordant to  the  eye,  and  the  reason  of  this  discordance 
has  been  shewn  by  the  foregoing  remarks.  Yet  these 
are  the  two  prevailing  colours  in  nature ;  and  no  per- 
son ever  objected  to  the  want  of  harmony  in  a  natural 
landscape,  because  the  sky  was  blue  and  the  surface  of 
the  earth  covered  with  greens,  except  he  viewed  it  with 
a  painter's  eye,  and  considered  the  difficulty  or  even 
impossibility  of  exciting  the  same  pleasurable  sensa- 
tions by  transferring  these  colours  to  his  canvas ;  the 
only  way  in  which  I  can  solve  this  seeming  paradox  is 
by  observing  that  the  works  of  nature  and  those  of  art 
must  ever  be  placed  at  an  immeasurable  distance,  from 
the  different  scale  of  their  proportions ;  and  whether 
we  compare  the  greater  efforts  of  man  with  the  system 


220         The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardening 

in  which  the  world  he  inhabits  forms  but  an  inconsider- 
able speck,  or  the  most  exquisite  miniature  of  mech- 
anism with  the  organs  of  sense  and  motion  in  an  insect, 
we  must  equally  feel  the  deficiency  of  comparison,  the 
incompetency  of  imitation,  and  the  imperfection  of  all 
human  system.  Yet,  while  lost  in  wonder  and  amaze- 
ment, the  man  of  taste  and  the  true  philosopher  will 
feel  such  agreement  existing  in  the  laws  of  nature  as 
can  only  be  the  consequence  of  Infinite  Wisdom  and 
Design ;  while  to  the  sceptic,  whether  in  moral  or  in 
natural  philosophy,  the  best  answer  will  be  in  the  words 
of  the  poet : 

**  All  nature  is  but  art  unknown  to  thee  ; 
All  chance,  direction  which  thou  canst  not  see  ; 
All  discord,  harmony  not  understood  ; 
All  partial  evil,  universal  good." 


NOTES 


■51Q 

ech 
set, 
he 

ai 


Notes 


'  [Launcelot  Brown,  landscape  gardener  and  architect,  was 
born  in  1715  at  Harle-Kirk,  Northumberland,  England.  He 
was  originally  a  kitchen-gardener  in  the  employment  of  Lord 
Cobham,  at  Stowe.  His  remarkable  faculty  for  prejudging  land- 
scape effects  procured  him  the  patronage  of  persons  of  rank  and 
taste.  Repton  speaks  of  Brown  as  the  founder  of  the  English 
style  of  landscape  gardening,  but  the  real  founder  was  not 
Brown,  but  William  Kent  (b.  1684;  d.  1748).  Brown,  how- 
ever, worked  with  greater  genius  and  wider  success.  He  real- 
ized a  large  fortune,  and  by  his  amiable  manners  and  high 
character  supported  with  dignity  the  station  of  a  country  gen- 
tleman.   He  died  in  1783. — N.] 

^    CATALOGUE    OF    RED    BOOKS 

From  whence  the  extracts  in  Sketches  and  Hints  are  made ;  or  which  are  mentioned 
as  containing  further  elucidations  of  the  subjects  introduced  in  this  first  volume. 

PLACE  COUNTY  A  SEAT  OF 

Antony  House Cornwall Reginald  Pole  Carew,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Babworth Nottinghamshire Honourable  John  Bridgman  Simpson. 

Bessacre  Manor Yorkshire B.  D.  W.  Cook,  Esq. 

Brandsbury Middlesex Honourable  Lady  Salusbury. 

Brocklesby Lincolnshire Right  Honourable  Lord  Yarborough. 

Brookmans Herts S.  R.  Gaussen,  Esq. 

Buckminster Leicestershire Sir  William  Manners,  Bart. 

Castle  Hill Middlesex H.  Beaufoy,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Catchfrench Cornwall F.  Glanville,  Esq. 

Claybury Essex James  Hatch,  Esq. 

Cobham  Park Kent Earl  Darnley. 

Courteen  Hall Northamptonshire Sir  William  Wake,  Bart. 

Crewe  Hall Cheshire John  Crewe,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Culford Suffolk Marquis  Cornwallis. 

Donington Leicestershire Earl  Moira. 

Ferney  Hall Shropshire Late  Sam.  Phipps,  Esq. 

Finedon Northamptonshire J.  English  Dolben,  Esq. 

Garnons Herefordshire J.  G.  Cotterell,  Esq.   [In  1838,  Sir  J.  G. 

Cotterell,  Bart.J 

Gayhurst Bucks George  Wrighte,  Esq. 

Glevering Suffolk Chaloner  Arcedeckne,  Esq. 

Hanslope  Park Bucks Edward  Watts,  Esq. 

Hazells  Hall Bedfordshire Francis  Pym,  Esq. 


224  Notes 


A   SEAT  OF 


Herriard's  House Hampshire G.  Purefoy  Jervoise,  Esq. 

Holkham Norfolk T.  W.  Coke,  Esq.,  M.  P.     [In  1838,  the 

Earl  of  Leicester.] 

Holme  Park Berkshire Richard  Palmer,  Esq. 

Holwood Kent Right   Honourable   W.   Pitt.    [In    1838, 

John  Ward,  Esq.] 

Lamer Herts Lieutenant-Colonel  C.  Drake  Garrard. 

Langley  Park Kent Sir  Peter  Burrell,  Bart.,  M.  P.   [In  1838 

E.  Goodhart,  Esq.] 

Lathom Lancashire Wilbraham  Bootle,  Esq. 

Little  Green Sussex Thomas  Peckham  Phipps,  Esq. 

Livermere  Park Suffolk N.  Lee  Acton,  Esq. 

Milton Cambridgeshire Samuel  Knight,  Esq. 

Milton  Park Northamptonshire Earl  Fitzwilliam. 

Nacton Suffolk P.  B.  Broke,  Esq.. 

Northrepps Norfolk Bartlet  Gurney,  Esq. 

Ouston Yorkshire Bryan  Cook,  Esq. 

Port  Eliot Cornwall Right  Honourable  Lord  Eliot. 

Prestwood Staffordshire Honourable  Edward  Foley,  M.  P. 

Purley Berkshire Anthony  Morris  Storer,  Esq. 

Riven  Hall Essex C.  C.  Western,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Rudding  Hall Yorkshire Lord  Loughborough,  L.  H.  Chancellor. 

Scrielsby Lincolnshire Honourable  the  Champion  Dymock. 

Sheffield  Place Sussex Right  Honourable  Lord  Sheffield. 

Stoke  Park Herefordshire Honourable  E.  Foley,  M.  P. 

Stoke  Pogies Bucks John  Penn,  Esq. 

Stoneaston Somersetshire Hippesley  Coxe,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Sundridge Kent E.  G.  Linde,  Esq.    [In  1838,  Sir  SamL 

Scott,  Bart.] 

Sunninghill Berks James  Sibbald,  Esq. 

Tatton  Park Cheshire William  Egerton,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Thoresby Nottinghamshire Charles  Pierrepont,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Trewarthenick Cornwall Fr.  Gregor,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Tyrringham Bucks WiUiam  Praed,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Waresley Essex Sir  Geo.  AUanson  Winn,  Bart.,  M.  P. 

Welbeck Nottinghamshire His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Portland. 

Wembly Middlesex Richard  Page,  Esq. 

Whersted Suffolk Sir  Robert  Harland,  Bart. 

Widdial  Hall Herts J.  T.  Ellis,  Esq. 

3  Having  always  had  these  considerations  in  view  when- 
ever I  have  been  consulted  on  the  site  of  a  new  house,  or  on 
the  preservation  of  the  old  one,  I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  men- 
tioning several  instances,  in  some  of  which  the  original  Red 
Books  may  possibly  be  consulted,  to  shew  the  variety  of  manner 
in  which  these  general  rules  have  been  applied  to  particular 
purposes :  Sunninghill,  Sundridge,  Courteen  Hall,  Whersted, 
Waresley  Park,  Ouston,  Bessacre  Manor,  Northrepps,  Buck- 
minster,  Little  Green,  Holme  Park,  Purley. 

'♦  [Professional  architects  and  landscape  architects  would  not 
agree  with  this  view  of  Repton.  It  indicates  a  narrowness  with 


Notes  225 


regard  to  formal  design  and  a  failure  to  appreciate  the  satisfac- 
tion to  be  obtained  from  an  appropriately  terminated  vista. 
Moreover,  Repton's  estimate  of  the  avenue  at  Langley  Park  is 
most  unusual  and  not  in  accordance  with  the  present  prin- 
ciples of  landscape  design.  —  N.] 

s  It  is  of  little  consequence  from  what  spot  a  drawing  is 
taken,  since  all  avenues  bear  so  great  a  resemblance  to  each 
other.  I  shall  here  enumerate  a  few  instances  in  which  avenues 
have  been  submitted  to  my  consideration.  At  Cobham  Park 
I  give  reasons  for  preserving  one,  and  destroying  the  rest ;  at 
Prestwood,  for  retaining  the  avenue ;  at  Tatton  Park,  for 
quitting  the  avenue,  and  planting  it  up ;  at  Trewarthenick,  an 
avenue  was  very  easily  broken,  from  its  having  been  planted 
on  uneven  ground;  and  at  Brookmans,  I  elucidate  the  necessity 
of  fixing  on  proper  trees  to  form  the  outline  in  breaking  an 
avenue ;  or  if  the  trees  have  stood  so  long  near  each  other 
that  no  good  outline  can  be  formed,  then  the  tops  of  some 
neighbouring  trees  may  be  so  introduced  as  in  some  degree  to 
supply  the  defect. 

An  avenue  of  firs  is  the  most  obstinate  to  break,  because 
they  leave  no  lateral  branches  ;  and,  therefore,  in  the  stupend- 
ous double  row  of  large  silver  firs,  which  the  false  taste  of 
the  last  century  has  planted  at  Herriard's  house,  I  have  advised 
the  destruction  of  one  half,  leaving  the  other  as  a  magnificent 
specimen  of  the  ancient  style  in  gardening. 

^  This  subject  has  also  been  mentioned  in  the  following  Red 
Books,  viz.  Ferney  Hall,  Rudding  Hall,  Widdial  Hall,  Bab- 
worth,  Scrielsby,  Milton,  Livermere,  Garnons,  Crewe  Hall, 
Brocklesby,  Thoresby,  Stoneaston,  Nacton,  etc. 

7   Essay  on  the  Sublime^  part  11,  section  10. 

^  [In  the  original  edition  this  chapter  was  entitled  "  Concern- 
ing Park  Scenery."  It  has  been  changed  to  "  Large  Private 
Places  "  because  the  word  "  park  "  has  come  to  mean  some- 
thing different  from  what  Repton  had  in  mind.  —  N.] 

9  There  is  at  present  no  word  by  which  we  express  that 
sort  of  territory  adjacent  to  a  country  mansion,  which,  being 
too  large  for  a  garden,  too  wild  for  pleasure-ground,  and  too 


226  Notes 


neat  for  a  farm,  is  yet  often  denied  the  name  of  a  park,  be- 
cause it  is  not  fed  by  deer.  I  generally  waive  this  distinction, 
and  call  the  wood  and  lawns,  near  every  house,  a  park,  whether 
fed  by  deer,  by  sheep,  or  heavy  cattle. 

•°  [See  An  Essay  on  Taste.  By  A.  Gerard,  D.D.  To 
which  are  prefixed  three  Dissertations  on  the  same  subject 
by  M.  de  Voltaire,  M.  d'Alembert,  and  M.  de  Montesquieu. 
Edinburgh,  1764.    i2mo.  —  J.  C.  L.] 

"   Lord  Kaims's  Elements  of  Criticism. 

"  The  subject  has  been  more  fully  treated  in  my  remarks 
on  Holwood,  in  Kent,  a  seat  of  the  Right  Hon.  Wm.  Pitt; 
and  Stoke,  in  Herefordshire,  a  seat  of  the  Hon.  Edw.  Foley. 

'3  It  was  not  my  original  intention  to  have  treated  of  "Ap- 
proaches "  in  this  volume,  as  it  is  a  subject  that  requires  to  be 
elucidated  by  many  plates  ;  but  the  publication  of  a  didactic 
poem.  The  Landscape:  a  Poem.,  by  R.  P.  Knight,  Esq.,  addressed 
to  Uvedale  Price,  Esq.,  where  much  is  said  on  that  subject 
under  the  sanction  and  authority  of  two  gentlemen  of  acknow- 
ledged taste,  obliges  me  to  defend  not  only  my  own  principles 
and  the  reputation  of  my  late  predecessor,  Mr.  Brown,  but 
also  the  art  itself,  from  attacks  which  are  the  more  dangerous 
from  the  manner  in  which  they  are  conveyed ;  and  because 
they  are  accompanied  by  some  doctrines  to  which  every  per- 
son of  true  taste  must  give  his  assent.  Yet,  while  I  pay  this 
tribute  due  to  the  merit  of  a  work  containing  many  things 
worthy  of  admiration,  and  while  I  acknowledge  my  personal 
obligation  for  being  the  only  individual  in  my  profession  to 
whom  any  degree  of  merit  is  allowed  by  the  author  of  it,  I 
feel  it  a  kind  of  duty  to  watch  with  a  jealous  eye  every  in- 
novation on  the  principles  of  taste  in  landscape  gardening, 
since  I  have  been  honoured  with  the  care  of  so  many  of  the 
finest  places  in  the  kingdom. 

^^  Gerardin.,  Viscomte  d'  Ermenonville.,  sur  le  Pay  sage.  A  work 
containing  many  just  observations ;  but  often  mixed  with 
whimsical  conceits,  and  impracticable  theories  of  gardening. 
[The  work  alluded  to  is  translated  under  the  title  of  Jn 
Essay  on  Landscape ;  or^  on  the  means  of  Improving  and  Emhel- 


Notes  227 


lishing  the  Country  round  our  Habitations.  Translated  from  the 
French  of  R.  L.  Gerardin,  Viscomte  d'Ermenonville.  London, 
1783.    i2mo  — J.  C.  L.] 

's  Thus,  before  a  house  is  planned,  the  proprietor  must 
describe  the  kind  of  house  he  wishes  to  build.  The  architect 
is  to  consider  what  must  be  had  and  what  may  be  dispensed 
with.  He  ought  to  keep  his  plan  as  scrupulously  within  the 
expense  proposed  as  within  the  limits  of  the  ground  he  is  to 
build  upon  :  he  is,  in  short,  to  enter  into  the  views,  the  wishes, 
and  the  ideas  of  the  gentleman  who  will  inhabit  the  house 
proposed. 

'^  The  requisites  of  taste  are  well  described  by  Dr.  Beattie, 
under  five  distinct  heads:  "  i.  A  lively  and  correct  imagina- 
tion ;  2,  the  power  of  distinct  apprehension ;  3,  the  capacity 
of  being  easily,  strongly,  and  agreeably  affected  with  sublimity, 
beauty,  harmony,  correct  imitation,  etc. ;  4,  sympathy,  or  sen- 
sibility of  heart ;  and,  5,  judgement,  or  good  sense,  which  is 
the  principal  thing,  and  may  not  very  improperly  be  said  to 
comprehend  all  the  rest." 

'7   CATALOGUE  OF  RED  BOOKS 

From  whence  the  extracts  in  Theory  and  Practice  are  made, 

PLACE  COUNTY  A  SEAT  OF 

Abington  Hall Cambridgeshire John  Mortlock,  Esq. 

Adlestrop Gloucestershire L.  H.  Leigh,  Esq. 

Antony Cornwall R.  P.  Carew,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Ashton  Court Somersetshire Sir  Hugh  Smyth,  Bart. 

Aston Cheshire Honourable  Mrs.  Harvey  Aston. 

Attingham Shropshire Right  Honourable  Lord  Berwick. 

Bab  worth Nottinghamshire Honourable  J.  B.  Simpson,  M.  P. 

Bank  Farm Surry Honourable  General  St.  John. 

Bayham Kent Earl  Camden. 

Betchworth Surry Honourable  W.  H.  Bouverie,  M.  P. 

Blaize  Castle Gloucestershire J.  S.  Harford,  Esq. 

Bowood Wiltshire Marquis  Lansdown. 

Brandsbury Middlesex Honourable  Lady  Salusbury. 

Bracondale Norfolk P.  Martineau,  Esq. 

Brentry  Hill. Gloucestershire Wm.  Payne,  Esq. 

Buckminster Leicestershire Sir  Wm.  Manners,  Bart. 

Bulstrode Buckinghamshire His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Portland. 

Burleigh  on  the  Hill.  .Rutlandshire Earl  Winchelsea. 

Catton Norfolk Jer.  Ives,  Esq. 

Cashiobury Hertfordshire Earl  of  Essex. 

Catchfrench Cornwall Francis  Glanville,  Esq.,  M.  P. 


228  Notes 


A   SEAT  OF 


Chilton  Lodge Berkshire John  Pearse,  Esq. 

Clayberry  Hall Essex James  Hatch,  Esq. 

Cobham Kent Earl  Darnley. 

Courteen  Hall Northamptonshire Sir  William  Wake,  Bart. 

Corsham  House Wiltshire Paul  Cob.  Methuen,  Esq. 

Condover  Park Shropshire Owen  Smyth  Owen,  Esq. 

Coombe  Lodge Berks  &  Oxfordshire.. Samuel  Gardener,  Esq. 

Cote  Bank Gloucestershire William  Broderip,  Esq. 

Crewe Cheshire John  Crewe,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Culford Suffolk Marquis  Cornwallis 

Donington  Park Leicestershire Earl  Moira. 

Dulwich  Casina Surry Richard  Shawe,  Esq. 

Dullingham  House  ..  .Cambridgeshire Colonel  Jeaffreson. 

Dyrham  Park Gloucestershire William  Blathwayte,  Esq. 

Fort Bristol T.  Tyndall,  Esq. 

Garons Herefordshire J.  G.  Cotterel,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Gayhurst Buckinghamshire George  Wright,  Esq. 

Glemham Suffolk Dudley  North,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Grove  The Southgate Walker  Gray,  Esq. 

Hasells Bedfordshire Francis  Pym,  Esq. 

Harewood  House Yorkshire Right  Honourable  Lord  Harewood. 

Heathfield Sussex Francis  Newberry,  Esq. 

High  Legh Cheshire G.  J.  Legh,  Esq. 

Higham  Hills Essex John  Harman,  Esq. 

Highlands Essex C.  H.  Kortright,  Esq. 

Hill  Hall Essex Sir  William  Smyth,  Bart. 

Holkham Norfolk T.  W.  Coke,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Holwood Kent Right  Honourable  William  Pitt. 

Holme  Park Berkshire Richard  Palmer,  Esq. 

Hooton Cheshire Sir  Thomas  Stanley,  Bart 

Hurlingham in  Fulham John  Ellis,  Esq. 

Kenwood Middlesex Earl  Mansfield.  ^ 

Langley  Park Kent Right  Honourable  Lord  Gwydr. 

Lathom  House Lancashire Wilbraham  Bootle,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Langleys Essex W.  Tuffnel,  Esq. 

Livermere Suffolk N.  Lee  Acton,  Esq. 

Luscombe Devonshire Ch.  Hoare,  Esq. 

Maiden  Early Berkshire E.  Golding,  Esq.,  M.  P" 

Magdalen  College.  ..  .Oxford President  and  Fellows. 

Merly  House Dorsetshire W.  Willet  Willet,  Esq. 

Milton  House Cambridgeshire Samual  Knight,  Esq. 

Milton  Abbey Northamptonshire Earl  Wentworth  Fitzwilliam.. 

Michel  Grove Sussex Richard  Walker,  Esq. 

Moccas  Court Herefordshire Sir  George  Cornewall,  Bart.,  M.  P. 

Mulgrave Yorkshire Right  Honourable  Lord  Mulgrave. 

Newton  Park Somersetshire W.  Gore  Langton,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Normanton Rutlandshire Sir  Gilbert  Heathcote,  Bart,  M.  P. 

Oldbury  Court GJpucestershire T.  Graeme,  Esq. 

Organ  Hall Hertfordshire William  Togwood,  Esq. 

Panshanger Hertfordshire Earl  Cowper. 

Port  Eliot Cornwall Right  Honourable  Lord  Crags  Eliot. 

Prestwood Staffordshire Honourable  Edward  Foley,  M.  P. 

Plas  Newdy Anglesea Earl  of  Uxbridge. 

Purley Berkshire J.  Ant.  Storer,  Esq. 

Rendlesham Suffolk P.  Thellusson,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

RUg North  Wales Colonel  E.  V.  W.  Salesbury. 


Notes  229 

PLACE  COUNTY  A  SEAT  OF 

Sarsden Oxfordshire J.  Langston,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Scarrisbrick Lancashire T.  Scarrisbrick  Eccleston,  Esq. 

Sheffield  Place Sussex Right  Honourable  Lord  Sheffield. 

Shardeloes Buckinghamshire Wilham  Drake,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Stoke  Park Herefordshire Honourable  E.  Foley,  M.  P. 

Stoke  Pogies Berkshire John  Penn,  Esq. 

Stoneaston Somersetshire Hippesley  Coxe,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

St.  John's Isle  of  Wight Edward  Simeon,  Esq. 

Stapleton Gloucestershire Dr.  Lovell,  M.  D. 

Stratton  Park Hampshire Sir  Francis  Baring,  Bart,  M.  P. 

Streatham  Villa Surry Robert  Brown,  Esq. 

Sufton  Court Herefordshire James  Hereford,  Esq. 

Sundridge  Park Kent Claude  Scott,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Suttons Essex Charles  Smith,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Taplow Buckinghamshire J.  Fryer,  Esq. 

Tendring Suffolk jSir  William  Rowley,  Bart. 

Thoresby Nottinghamshire Lord  Viscount  Newark. 

Valleyfield Perthshire Sir  Robert  Preston,  Bart.,  M.  P. 

Wall  Hall Hertfordshire G.  W.  Thellusson,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

West  Wycombe Buckinghamshire Sir  J.  Dashwood  King,  Bart. 

Wentworth  House.  . . .  Yorkshire Earl  Wentworth  Fitzwilliam. 

Welbeck Nottinghamshire His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Portland. 

Whitton  Park Middlesex Samuel  Prime,  Esq. 

Wimpole Cambridgeshire Earl  Hardwicke. 

Woodley Berkshire Right  Honourable  H.  Addington,  M.  P. 

Wycombe Buckinghamshire Right  Honourable  Lord  Carrington. 

'^  On  the  summit  of  another  building,  viz.  a  sawmill  in 
the  park,  was  a  figure  of  a  man  in  a  brown  coat  and  a  broad- 
brimmed  hat,  representing  the  great  Penn,  of  Pennsylvania, 
which  being  much  larger  than  the  natural  proportion  of  a  man, 
yet  having  the  appearance  of  a  man  upon  the  roof  of  the 
building,  diminished  the  size  of  every  other  object  by  which  it 
was  surrounded.  It  has  since  been  removed,  and  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Penn,  at  Stoke  Pogies,  where,  placed  in  a 
room,  it  seems  a  colossal  figure.  Another  instance  of  false  scale 
at  this  place  was  the  diminutive  building  with  a  spire  at  the 
end  of  the  park,  vv^hich,  perhaps,  when  the  neighbouring  trees 
were  small,  might  have  been  placed  there  with  a  view  of  ex- 
tending the  perspective.  This  artifice  may  be  allowable  in  cer- 
tain cases  and  to  a  certain  degree,  yet  a  cathedral  in  miniature 
must  in  itself  be  absurd ;  and  when  we  know  that  it  was  only 
the  residence  of  a  shoemaker,  and  actually  dedicated  to  St. 
Crispin,  it  becomes  truly  ridiculous. 

I  have  drawn  these  examples  of  defects  from  West  Wy- 
combe, because  they  are  obvious  to  every  passenger  on  a  very 


230  Notes 


public  road,  and  because  I  shall,  in  the  course  of  this  volume, 
have  occasion  to  mention  the  many  beauties  of  this  place. 

'9  Of  this  I  observed  a  curious  instance  at  Hooton  House, 
from  whence  a  distant  view  of  Liverpool  and  its  busy  scenery 
of  shipping  is  not  easily  seen  without  opening  the  windows, 
while  the  difference  of  a  few  yards  in  the  original  position  of 
the  house  would  have  obviated  the  defect,  while  it  improved 
its  general  situation. 

*°  That  1  may  not  be  misunderstood,  as  recommending  a 
road  over  hill  and  dale  to  shew  the  extent  or  beauty  of  a  place, 
I  must  here  observe  that  nothing  can  justify  a  visible  devia- 
tion from  the  shortest  line  in'^^an  approach  to  a  house  but  such 
obstacles  as  evidently  point  out  the  reason  for  the  deviation. 

^'  To  produce  this  effect  two  or  more  trees  should  some- 
times be  planted  in  the  same  hole,  cutting  their  roots  so  as  to 
bring  them  nearer  together ;  and  we  sometimes  observe  great 
beauty  in  a  tree  and  a  bush  thus  growing  together,  or  even  in 
trees  of  different  characters,  as  the  great  oak  and  ash  at  Wel- 
beck  and  the  oak  and  beech  in  Windsor  Forest.  Yet  it  will 
generally  be  more  consonant  to  nature  if  the  groups  be  formed 
of  the  same  species  of  trees. 

^^  All  trees  exposed  to  cattle  are  liable  to  this  browsing- 
line,  although  thorns,  crabs,  and  other  prickly  plants  will 
sometimes  defend  themselves :  the  alder,  from  the  bitterness 
of  its  leaves,  is  also  an  exception ;  but  where  sheep  only  are 
admitted,  the  line  will  be  so  much  below  the  eye  that  it  pro- 
duces a  different  effect,  of  which  great  advantage  may  some- 
times be  taken,  especially  in  flat  situations. 

^3  This  remark  is  verified  at  Aston,  where  it  is  found  that 
more  cattle  are  fed  in  the  park  from  the  improved  quality  of 
the  pasture,  since  the  quantity  has  been  reduced  by  the  ample 
plantations  made  within  the  last  ten  years. 

24  u  'phe  outline  of  a  wood  may  sometimes  be  great  and 
always  be  beautiful ;  the  first  requisite  is  irregularity.  That 
a  mixture  of  trees  and  underwood  should  form  a  long  straight 
line  can  never  be  natural,  and  a  succession  of  easy  sweeps 
and  gentle  rounds,  each  a  portion  of  a  greater  or  less  circle, 


Notes  231 

composing  altogether  a  line  literally  serpentine,  is,  if  possible, 
worse:  it  is  but  a  number  of  regularities  put  together  in  a  dis- 
orderly manner,  and  equally  distant  from  the  beautiful,  both 
of  art  and  of  nature.  The  true  beauty  of  an  outline  consists 
more  in  breaks  than  in  sweeps ;  rather  in  angles  than  in 
rounds ;  in  variety,  not  in  succession. 

"  The  outline  of  a  wood  is  a  continued  line,  and  small  vari- 
ations do  not  save  it  from  the  insipidity  of  sameness;  one  deep 
recess,  one  bold  prominence,  has  more  effect  than  twenty 
little  irregularities:  that  one  divides  the  line  into  parts,  but  no 
breach  is  thereby  made  in  its  unity ;  a  continuation  of  wood 
always  remains,  the  form  of  it  only  is  altered,  and  the  extent 
is  increased  :  the  eye,  which  hurries  to  the  extremity  of  what- 
ever is  uniform,  delights  to  trace  a  varied  line  through  all  its 
intricacies,  to  pause  from  stage  to  stage,  and  to  lengthen  the 
progress. 

"  The  parts  must  not,  however,  on  that  account  be  multi- 
plied till  they  are  too  minute  to  be  interesting  and  so  numer- 
ous as  to  create  confusion  A  few  large  parts  should  be 
strongly  distinguished  in  their  forms,  their  directions,  and  their 
situations ;  each  of  these  may  afterwards  be  decorated  with 
subordinate  varieties,  and  the  mere  growth  of  the  plants  will 
occasion  some  irregularity  ;  on  many  occasions  more  will  not 
be  required. 

"  Every  variety  in  the  outline  of  a  wood  must  be  a  promin- 
ence or  a  recess  ;  breadth  in  either  is  not  so  important  as  length 
to  the  one  and  depth  to  the  other;  if  the  former  ends  in  an 
angle  or  the  latter  diminishes  to  a  point,  they  have  more  force 
than  a  shallow  dent  or  a  dwarf  excrescence,  how  wide  soever: 
they  are  greater  deviations  from  the  continued  line  which  they 
are  intended  to  break  and  their  effect  is  to  enlarge  the  wood 
itself. 

"An  inlet  into  a  wood  seems  to  have  been  cut  if  the  oppo- 
site points  of  the  entrance  tally,  and  that  shew  of  art  depre- 
ciates its  merit :  but  a  difference  only  in  the  situation  of  those 
points,  by  bringing  one  more  forward  than  the  other,  prevents 
the  appearance,  though  their  forms  be  similar. 


232 


Notes 


*'  Other  points  which  distinguish  the  great  parts,  should,  in 
general,  be  strongly  marked ;  a  short  turn  has  more  spirit 
in  it  than  a  tedious  circuity ;  and  a  line,  broken  by  angles,  has 
a  precision  and  firmness  which  in  an  undulated  line  are  want- 
ing :  the  angles  should,  indeed,  be  a  little  softened ;  the  rotund- 
ity of  the  plant  which  forms  them  is  sometimes  sufficient  for 
that  purpose;  but  if  they  are  mellowed  down  too  much  they 
lose  all  meaning. 

*'  Every  variety  of  outline,  hitherto  mentioned,  may  be  traced 
by  the  underwood  alone ;  but  frequently  the  same  effects  may  be 
produced  with  more  ease,  and  much  more  beauty,  by  a  few 
trees  standing  out  from  the  thicket,  and  belonging,  or  seeming 
to  belong,  to  the  wood,  so  as  to  make  a  part  of  its  figure." 
[From  Observations  on  Modern  Gardenings  by  Thomas  Whate- 
ley.] 

*s  Course  of  the  drive  at  Bulstrode.  Taking  the  departure  from 
the  house,  along  the  valley,  towards  the  north,  it  passes  the 
situation  proposed  for  a  cottage  at  [Plate  xiii]  No.  i,  from 
thence  ascends  to  the  summit  of  the  chalk  cliff  that  overhangs 
the  dell  at  No.  2,  and  making  a  sharp  turn  at  No.  3,  to  de- 
scend with  ease,  it  crosses  the  head  of  the  valley,  and  enters 
the  rough  broken  ground,  which  is  curious  for  the  variety  of 
plants  at  No.  4. 

From  the  several  points,  Nos.  i,  2,  and  3,  the  view  along 
the  great  valley  is  nearly  the  same,  but  seen  under  various 
circumstances  of  foreground:  at  No.  4  it  crosses  the  approach 
from  London,  and  passes  through  an  open  grove.  No.  5. 

The  drive  now  sweeps  round  on  the  knoll  at  No.  6,  along 
a  natural  terrace,  from  which  the  opposite  hill  and  the  house 
appear  to  great  advantage.  From  hence,  crossing  the  valley, 
No.  7,  among  the  finest  trees  in  the  park,  it  passes  a  deep  ro- 
mantic dell  at  No.  8,  which  might  be  enlivened  by  water,  as 
a  drinking-pool  for  the  deer,  and  then,  as  it  will  pass  at  No.  9, 
near  the  side  of  the  Roman  camp,  I  think  the  drive '  should 
be  made  on  one  of  the  banks  of  the  Vallum ;  because  it  is 

'  This  great  work  being  in  a  progressive  state,  the  reader  will  observe  that  some 
parts  of  this  drive  are  mentioned  as  not  yet  completed. 


Notes  2^2 


a  circumstance  of  antiquity  worthy  to  be  drawn  into  notice ; 
and,  by  being  elevated  above  the  plain,  we  shall  not  only  see 
into  the  intrenchment,  but  remark  the  venerable  trees  which 
enrich  its  banks  ;  these  trees  are  the  growth  of  many  centuries, 
yet  they  lead  the  mind  back  to  the  far  more  ancient  date  of 
this  encampment,  when  the  ground  must  have  been  a  naked 
surface.  Another  advantage  will  also  be  derived  from  carrying 
the  drive  above  the  level  of  the  plain.  T^he  eye  being  raised 
above  the  browsing-line^^  the  park  wall  will  be  better  hid  by  the 
lower  branches  of  intermediate  trees.  At  No.  lO  the  drive  is  less 
interesting,  because  the  surface  is  flat ;  but  such  occasional  tame- 
ness  gives  repose^  and  serves  to  heighten  the  interest  of  subse- 
quent scenery ;  yet  at  this  place,  if  the  drive  be  made  to 
branch  along  the  Vallum,  it  will  pass  over  the  most  beautiful 
part  of  the  park,  on  a  natural  terrace,  at  No.  ii,and  this  will 
join  the  inner  drive,  returning  down  the  valley  towards  the 
kitchen-garden. 

I  am  now  to  speak  of  the  great  woods  called  Fentum's, 
Piper's,  Column's,  Walk  Wood,  and  Shipman's,  in  which  a 
serpentine  drive  has  been  formerly  cut,  which  no  one  would 
desire  to  pass  a  second  time,  from  its  length,  added  to  the 
total  absence  of  interest  or  variety  of  objects  ;  but  following 
the  taste  which  supposes  "  Nature  to  abhor  a  straight  line," 
this  drive  meanders  in  uniform  curves  of  equal  lengths,  and 
the  defect  is  increased  by  there  being  only  one  connexion  with 
the  park,  while  the  other  end  of  the  drive  finishes  at  a  great 
distance  across  Fulmer  Common.  The  first  object,  therefore, 
of  improvement  will  be  to  form  such  a  line  of  connexion 
with  the  park  as  may  make  it  seem  a  part  of  the  same  do- 
main, and  this  would  be  more  easily  done  if  the  hollow  way- 
road  under  the  park  wall  could  be  removed;  because  other- 
wise the  drive  must  cross  the  road  twice  at  No.  I2,  as  I  sup- 
pose it  to  enter  a  field  at  No.  13,  which  might  be  planted  to 
connect  it  with  the  Broomfield  copse,  No.  14,  from  whence, 

'  The  browsing-line  is  explained  in  "Theory  and  Practice,"  chap,  iv,  p.   109. 

*  The  excess  of  variety  may  become  painful,  and  therefore,  in  a  long  drive,  some 
parts  should  be  less  interesting,  or,  if  possible,  should  excite  no  interest,  and  be  indiffer- 
ent without  exciting  disgust. 


234  Notes 


after  crossing  several  interesting  small  enclosures,  with  forest- 
like borders,  it  enters  and  sweeps  through  the  wood.  Little 
Fentums,  No.  1 6,  to  join  the  old  drive,  or  at  least  such  parts 
of  it  as  can  be  made  subservient  to  a  more  interesting  line. 
After  crossing  a  valley  and  streamlet  at  No.  17,  and  another 
at  No.  18,  it  should  ascend  the  hill  of  Piper's  Wood,  in  which 
there  are  at  present  no  drives,  and  at  No.  19,  a  branch  may 
lead  on  to  the  common,  as  a  green  way  to  London.  The 
drive,  sweeping  round  to  No.  20,  opens  on  a  view  of  the 
village  and  valley  of  Fulmer,  with  a  series  of  small  ponds, 
which,  in  this  point  of  view,  appear  to  be  one  large  and  beau- 
tiful piece  of  water  :  this  scene  may  be  considered  the  most 
pleasing  subject  for  a  picture  during  the  whole  course  of  the 
drive.  This  would  be  a  proper  place  for  a  covered  seat,  with 
a  shed  behind  it  for  horses  or  open  carriages  ;  '  but  it  should 
be  set  so  far  back  as  to  command  the  view  under  the  branches 
of  trees,  which  are  very  happily  situated  for  the  purpose  at 
No.  20. 

From  hence  the  drive  descends  the  hill,  in  one  bold  line. 
No.  21,  with  a  view  towards  the  opposite  wood  across  the 
valley.  Having  again  ascended  the  hill,  in  wood,  there  are 
some  parts  of  the  present  drive  which  might  be  made  interest- 
ing by  various  expedients.  At  No.  22,  one  side  of  the  drive 
might  be  opened  to  shew  the  opposite  hanging  wood  in  glades 
along  the  course  of  the  drive.  At  No.  23,  a  shorter  branch 
might  be  made  to  avoid  the  too  great  detour,  though  there  is 
a  view  into  the  valley  of  Fulmer,  at  No.  24,  worthy  to  be  pre- 
served.^ In  some  parts  the  width  of  the  drive  might  be  varied 
and  some  of  the  violent  curvatures  corrected  ;   in  others,  the 

'  In  long  drives  such  attention  to  convenience  is  advisable ;  a  thatched  hovel  of 
Doric  proportions  nmay  not  only  be  made  an  ornament  to  the  scenery,  but  it  will  often 
serve  for  a  shelter  from  sudden  storms  in  our  uncertain  climate  ;  for  this  reason  it  should 
be  large  enough  to  contain  several  open  carriages. 

^  I  have  distinguished,  by  italics,  some  peculiar  circumstances  of  variety,  from  hav- 
ing observed  great  sameness  in  the  usual  mode  of  conducting  a  drive  through  a  belt  of 
young  plantation,  where  trees  of  every  species  are  mixed  together.  There  is  actually 
more  variety  in  passing  from  a  grove  of  oaks  to  a  grove  of  firs  or  a  scene  of  brush- 
wood than  in  passing  through  a  wood  composed  of  a  hundred  different  species  of  trees 
as  they  are  usually  mixed  together. 


Notes  22S 


best  trees  might  be  singled  out  and  little  openings  made^  to  be  fed 
by  sheep  occasionally ;  and  another  mode  of  producing  variety 
would  be  to  take  away  certain,  trees  and  leave  others^  where  any 
particular  species  abound :  thus  in  some  places  the  birches  only 
might  be  left^  and  all  the  oaks  and  beech  and  other  plants  re- 
moved, to  make,  in  time,  a  specimen  of  Birkland  forest,  while 
there  are  some  places  where  the  holly  and  hawthorn  might  be 
encouraged^  and  all  taller  growth  give  place  to  these  low  shrubs, 
with  irregular  shapes  of  grass  flowing  among  them.  This 
would  create  a  degree  of  variety  that  it  is  needless  to  enlarge 
upon. 

The  course  of  the  drive  through  Shipman's  Wood,  No.  26, 
may  be  brought  lower  down  the  hill,  to  keep  the  two  lines  as 
far  distant  from  each  other  as  possible,  and  also  to  make  the 
line  easier  round  the  knoll  at  No.  28,  though  an  intermediate 
or  shorter  branch  may  also  diverge,  at  No.  27,  towards  the 
valley.  There  is  some  difficulty  in  joining  this  drive  with 
the  park  without  going  round  the  gardener's  house ;  but  as  the 
kitchen-garden  must  be  seen  from  this  part  of  the  drive,  and 
as  it  forms  a  leading  feature  in  the  establishment  of  Bulstrode, 
it  will  sometirnes  become  part  of  the  circuit  to  walk  through 
it,  and  the  carriages  may  enter  the  drive  again  at  No.  31  ;  I 
have,  therefore,  described  two  ways.  No.  29  and  No.  30,  as 
I  suppose  the  bottom  of  this  valley  to  be  an  orchard,  through 
which  the  drive  may  pass,  or  make  the  shorter  line  along  the 
garden-wall,  to  No.  31. 

The  course  along  the  valley  is  extremely  interesting ;  and 
as  some  consider  the  farm-yard  and  premises  a  part  of  the 
beauty  as  well  as  the  comfort  of  a  residence  in  the  country, 
I  have  supposed  one  branch  of  the  drive.  No.  32,  to  pass  near 
a  large  tree,  and  the  other  to  go  on  the  bank  at  No.  33,  and 
cross  the  corner  of  Hedgerley  Green,  which  I  suppose  might 
be  planted  round  the  gravel-pit ;  but  when  the  drive  enters  the 
farm  enclosures^  it  ought^  if  possible.,  to  follow  the  course  of  the 
hedges.,  and  not  to  cross  a  field  diagonally.  From  No.  34  to 
No.  35  is  perfectly  flat,  and  follows  the  line  of  the  hedges  to 
the  corner  at  No.  35,  where  a  new  scene  presents  itself,  viz. 


236  Notes 


a  view  toward  the  village  of  Hedgerley,  in  a  valley,  surrounded 
with  woody  banks.  The  drive  now  skirts  along  the  hedge, 
and  passes,  at  No.  36,  a  farmhouse,  which  might  be  opened 
to  the  field,  and  then  enters  Wapsey's  Wood,  in  which  the 
first  bold  feature  will  present  itself  at  No.  37,  where  the 
drive  may  come  so  near  the  edge  as  to  shew  the  view  along 
the  valley  and  the  amphitheatre  of  wood  surrounding  these 
small  enclosures :  it  then  passes  through  the  wood  to  a  very 
large  oak,  at  No.  38,  which  may  be  brought  into  notice  by 
letting  the  drive  go  on  each  side  of  it,  and  afterwards,  follow- 
ing the  shape  of  the  ground,  it  sweeps  round  the  knoil  at  No. 
39,  with  a  rich  view  of  the  opposite  bank,  across  the  high- 
road, seen  under  large  trees ;  it  then  ascends  the  hill  by  the 
side  of  a  deep  dell  at  No.  40,  and  makes  a  double  at  No.  41, 
to  cross  the  valley,  that  it  may  skirt  round  the  knoll  on  the 
furze  hill  at  No.  42,  from  whence  it  descends  into  the  valley  at 
No.  43,  and  either  returns  to  the  house,  by  the  approach  from 
Oxford,  or  is  continued  under  the  double  line  of  elms  at  No.  44, 
to  ascend  by  the  valley  from  whence  the  drive  began. 

To  some  persons  this  description  may  appear  tedious  ;  to 
others  it  will  perhaps  furnish  amusement  to  trace  the  course 
of  such  a  line  on  the  map ;  but  I  have  purposely  distinguished, 
by  italics,  some  observations  containing  principles  which  have 
not  before  been  reduced  to  practical  improvement. 

^^  It  is  in  the  act  of  removing  trees  and  thinning  woods 
that  the  landscape  gardener  must  shew  his  intimate  knowledge 
of  pleasing  combinations,  his  genius  for  painting,  and  his  acute 
perception  of  the  principles  of  an  art  which  transfers  the 
imitative  though  permanent  beauties  of  a  picture  to  the  pur- 
poses of  elegant  and  comfortable  habitation,  the  ever-varying 
effects  of  light  and  shade,  and  the  inimitable  circumstances 
of  a  natural  landscape. 

^^  Examples  of  this  may  be  seen  at  Bulstrode,  at  Michel 
Grove,  at  Brentry  Hill,  etc. 

^^  Although  I  have  never  seen  Valley  Field  myself,  yet 
it  flatters  me  to  learn  that  under  the  direction  of  my  two  sons, 
by  taking  advantage  of  the  deep  romantic  glen  and  wooded 


Notes  237 


banks  of  the  river  which  flows  through  the  grounds  and  falls 
into  the  Frith  of  Forth  at  a  short  distance  from  the  house,  an 
approach  has  been  made,  which,  for  variety,  interest,  and  pic- 
turesque scenery,  may  vie  with  anything  of  the  kind  in  Eng- 
land ;  while  it  remains  a  specimen  of  the  powers  of  landscape 
gardening  in  that  part  of  Scotland  where  the  art  had  been 
introduced  only  by  those  imitators  of  Mr.  Brown's  manner 
who  had  travelled  into  the  north.  His  own  improvements 
were  confined  to  England. 

^9  Earl  Harcourt,  although  possessing  great  good  taste^ 
gives  the  whole  merit  of  this  garden  to  Mason  the  poet,  as  he 
does  of  his  pleasure-grounds  to  Brown.  Thus,  superior  to 
that  narrow  jealousy  which  would  deny  the  just  tribute  of 
praise  to  the  professor,  his  lordship  is  satisfied  with  having 
been  the  liberal  friend  and  patron  of  merit. 

3°  Mr.  Knight  has  endeavoured  to  ridicule  all  display  of  ex- 
tent of  property,  which  I  consider  one  of  the  leading  principles 
of  the  art.  I  contend  that  it  is  impossible  to  annex  the  same 
degree  of  importance  to  a  modern  house,  however  large,  by  the 
side  of  a  highroad,  that  may  be  justly  given  to  one  surrounded 
by  an  extensive  park.  To  this  principle  of  improvement  I  have 
given  the  name  of  "  appropriation." 

3'  Mr.  Price  builds  a  theory  of  improvement  on  the  study 
of  the  best  pictures,  without  considering  how  little  affinity 
there  is  betwixt  the  confined  landscape  exhibited  on  canvas 
and  the  extensive  range  which  the  eye  at  once  comprehends ; 
and  argues  that  the  best  works  of  the  painter  should  be  models 
for  the  improver. 

3^  One  great  error  in  Mr.  Brown's  followers  has  been  the  un- 
necessary extent  of  parks.  It  is  my  opinion  that,  provided  the 
boundary  can  be  properly  disguised,  the  largest  parks  need  not 
exceed  two  or  three  hundred  acres,  else  they  are  apt  to  become 
farms  within  a  pale,  or  they  are  forests  rather  than  parks. 

32  Since  I  began  these  remarks  on  Attingham,  Mr.  Price 
has  published  a  second  volume  of  Essays  on  the  Picturesque^ 
the  whole  of  which  is  founded  on  his  enthusiasm  for  pictures  ; 
and  he  very  justly  observes  (page  269),  "  Enthusiasm  always 


238  Notes 


leads  to  the  verge  of  ridicule,  and  seldom  keeps  totally  within 
it."  Thus,  not  content  with  making  the  works  of  great  paint- 
ers the  standard  for  laying-out  grounds,  they  are  also  to  fur- 
nish plans  and  elevations  for  all  our  buildings,  from  the  palace 
CO  the  cottage  :  and  since  we  cannot  be  quite  reconciled  to 
their  being  in  a  state  of  ruin,  which  would  certainly  be  most 
picturesque,  we  must  build  them  in  such  irregular  forms  that 
trees  may  be  introduced  in  various  hollows  and  recesses,  to  be 
left  for  this  purpose.  These  will,  mdeed,  very  soon  contribute 
to  produce  those  weather-stains  and  harmonious  tints  which 
are  more  grateful  to  the  painter's  eye  than  polished  marble, 
as  the  green  rust  on  copper  coins  is  more  interesting  to  the 
antiquarian  than  the  bright  surface  of  gold  or  silver.  Mr.  Price 
confesses  that  two  small  difficulties  occur  in  putting  these 
projects  fully  in  practice,  viz.  that  "  he  sees  no  examples  of 
chimneys  and  very  few  of  slanting  roofs  "  where  fine  pictures 
can  be  transferred  from  the  canvas  to  the  real  residence  of  man. 
How  void  of  taste  must  that  man  be  who  could  desire  a  chim- 
ney or  roof  to  his  country-house  when  we  are  told  that  Poussin 
and  Paul  Veronese  built  whole  cities  without  a  single  chimney 
and  with  only  one  or  two  slanting  roofs  !  This  idea  of  de- 
riving all  our  instruction  from  the  works  of  great  painters  is 
so  ingenious  and  useful  that  it  ought  not  to  be  confined  to 
gardening  and  building.  In  our  markets,  for  instance,  instead 
of  that  formal  trim  custom  of  displaying  poultry,  fish,  and 
fruit  for  sale  on  different  stalls,  why  should  we  not  rather 
copy  the  picturesque  jumble  of  Schnyders  and  Rubens  ?  Our 
kitchens  may  be  furnished  after  the  designs  of  Teniers  and 
Ostade,  our  stables  after  Wooverman's,  and  we  may  learn  to 
dance  from  Watteau  or  Zuccarelli  ;  in  short,  there  is  no  indi- 
vidual, from  the  emperor  to  the  cobbler,  who  may  not  find 
a  model  for  his  imitation  in  the  works  of  painters  if  he  will 
but  consult  the  whole  series  from  Guido  to  Teniers. 

34  If  I  were  to  enumerate  all  those  who  have  occasionally 
mentioned  gardening  as  a  relative  subject  of  taste,  I  should 
hardly  omit  the  name  of  any  author,  either  ancient  or  modern. 
Some  of  the  most  ingenious  hints,  and  even  some  just  princi- 


Notes  239 


pies  in  the  art,  are  to  be  found  in  the  works  of  Theocritus, 
Homer,  Virgil,  Petrarch,  Rousseau,  Voltaire,  Temple,  Bacon, 
Addison,  Home,  Gilpin,  Allison,  etc. 

35  That  this  simile  may  not  appear  ludicrous,  I  should  ob- 
serve that  the  ancient  gardens  were  often  made  with  refer- 
ence to  military  dispositions,  or  trees  were  sometimes  planted 
in  conformity  to  the  order  of  certain  battles  ;  thus,  at  Blenheim, 
the  square  clumps  planted  before  Brown  saw  the  place  were 
in  imitation  of  the  famous  battle  from  whence  the  place  was 
named.  And  in  an  old  map  of  a  place  in  Suffolk,  which,  I  be- 
lieve, was  planned  by  Le  Notre,  the  names  of  regiments  were 
given  to  square  clumps  or  platoons  of  trees,  which  on  paper 
resembled  the  positions  of  an  army. 

3^  Twelve  years  ago,  when  I  first  delivered  these  opinions, 
they  were  deemed  so  contrary  to  modern  practice  that  I  was 
cautious  in  defending  them.  I  have  since  more  boldly  sup- 
ported my  original  opinion,  and  rejoice  that  the  good  sense  of 
the  country  admits  their  propriety. 

37    Elements  of  Criticism. 

3^  Like  those  described  by  Sir  William  Chambers,  in  his 
Chinese  Gardening. 

39  By  this  term  I  mean  to  express  scenery,  less  rude  and 
neglected  than  the  forest  haunts  of  wild  animals,  and  less  arti- 
ficial than  the  farmer's  field  laid  out  for  gain  and  not  for 
appearance  :  or,  m  the  words  of  a  celebrated  author, "  to  create 
a  scenery  more  pure,  more  harmonious,  and  more  expressive 
than  any  that  is  to  be  found  in  nature  itself." 

^°  Lest  it  should  be  objected  that  I  am  going  beyond  the 
precise  boundaries  of  my  profession,  either  as  a  landscape 
gardener  or  as  an  architect,  I  shall  observe  that  the  professor 
of  taste  in  those  arts  must  necessarily  have  a  competent  know- 
ledge of  every  art  in  which  taste  may  be  exercised.  I  have 
frequently  given  designs  for  furniture  to  the  upholsterer,  for 
monuments  to  the  statuary,  and  to  the  goldsmith  I  gave  a 
design  for  one  of  the  most  sumptuous  presents  of  gold  plate 
which  was  ever  executed  in  this  country  :  it  consisted  of  a 
basin,  in  the  form  of  a  broad   flat  vase,  and  pedestal,  round 


24© 


Notes 


which  were  the  figures  of  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity  ;  the  for- 
mer spreading  her  hand  over  the  water,  as  in  the  act  of  bene- 
diction, and  the  two  latter  supporting  the  vase,  which  resem- 
bled a  baptismal  font :  the  whole  was  executed  in  gold,  and 
was  the  present  of  a  noble  duke  to  his  son  on  the  birth  of  his 
first  child. 

*^  Mr.  Brown's  fame  as  an  architect  seems  to  have  been 
eclipsed  by  his  celebrity  as  a  landscape  gardener,  he  being  the 
only  professor  of  the  one  art,  while  he  had  many  jealous  com- 
petitors in  the  other.  But  when  I  consider  the  number  of 
excellent  works  in  architecture  designed  and  executed  by  him, 
it  becomes  an  act  of  justice  to  his  memory  to  record  that,  if 
he  was  superior  to  all  in  what  related  to  his  own  peculiar  pro- 
fession, he  was  inferior  to  none  in  what  related  to  the  comfort, 
convenience,  taste,  and  propriety  of  design  in  the  several  man- 
sions and  other  buildings  which  he  planned.  Having  occasion- 
ally visited  and  admired  many  of  them,  I  was  induced  to  make 
some  inquiries  concerning  his  works  as  an  architect,  and,  with 
the  permission  of  Mr.  Holland,  to  whom,  at  his  decease,  he 
left  his  drawings,  I  insert  the  following  list : 

For  the  Earl  of  Coventry.    Croome,  house,  offices,  lodges,  church, 

etc.,  1 75 1. 
Earl  of  Donegal.    Fisherwick,  house,  offices,  and  bridge. 
Earl  of  Exeter.    Burleigh,  addition  to  the  house,  new  offices,  etc. 
Ralph  Allen,  Esq.,  near  Bath,  additional  building,  1765. 
Lord  Viscount  Palmerston.     Broadland,  considerable  additions.  ■ 
Lord  Craven.    Benham,  a  new  house. 

Robert  Drummond,  Esq.    Cadlands,  a  new  house,  offices,  etc. 
Earl  of  Bute.    Christ  Church,  a  bathing-place. 
Paul  Methuen,  Esq.    Corsham,  the  picture-gallery,  etc. 
Marquis  of  Stafford.    Trentham  Hall,  considerable  alterations. 
Earl  of  Newbury.     House,  offices,  etc.,  1762. 
Rowland  Holt,  Esq.     Redgrave,  large  new  house,  1765. 
Lord  Willoughby  de  Broke.    Compton,  a  new  chapel. 
Marquis  of  Bute.    Cardiff  Castle,  large  additions. 
Earl  Harcourt.    Nuneham,  alterations,  and  new  offices. 
Lord  Clive.    Clermont,  a  large  new  house. 


Notes  241 


Earl  of  Warwick.    Warwick  Castle,  added  to  the  entrance. 
Lord  Cobham.    Stowe,  several  of  the  buildings  in  the  garden. 
Lord  Clifford.    Ugbrooke,  a  new  house. 

To  this  list  Mr.  Holland  added  :  "  I  cannot  be  indifferent 
to  the  fame  and  character  of  so  great  a  genius,  and  am  only 
afraid  lest,  in  giving  the  annexed  account,  I  should  not  do  him 
justice.  No  man  that  I  ever  met  with  understood  so  well 
what  was  necessary  for  the  habitation  of  all  ranks  and  degrees 
of  society  ;  no  one  disposed  his  offices  so  well,  set  his  build- 
ings on  such  good  levels,  designed  such  good  rooms,  or  so  well 
provided  for  the  approach,  for  the  drainage,  and  for  the  com- 
fort and  conveniences  of  every  part  of  a  place  he  was  con- 
cerned in.  This  he  did  without  ever  having  had  one  single 
difference  or  dispute  with  any  of  his  employers.  He  left  them 
pleased,  and  they  remained  so  as  long  as  he  lived  ;  and  when  he 
died,  his  friend.  Lord  Coventry,  for  whom  he  had  done  so 
much,  raised  a  monument  at  Croome  to  his  memory." 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  ex- 
perienced architects  of  the  present  time ;  and  in  a  letter  to  me 
from  the  Earl  of  Coventry,  written  at  Spring  Hill,  his  lordship 
thus  mentions  Mr.  Brown  : 

"  I  certainly  held  him  very  high  as  an  artist,  and  esteemed 
him  as  a  most  sincere  friend.  In  spite  of  detraction,  his  works 
will  ever  speak  for  him.  I  write  from  a  house  which  he  built 
for  me,  which,  without  any  pretension  to  architecture,  is,  per- 
haps, a  model  for  every  internal  and  domestic  convenience. 
I  may  be  partial  to  my  place  at  Croome,  which  was  entirely 
his  creation,  and,  I  believe,  originally,  as  hopeless  a  spot  as 
any  in  the  island." 

I  will  conclude  this  tribute  to  the  memory  of  my  prede- 
cessor, by  transcribing  the  last  stanza  of  his  epitaph,  written 
by  Mr.  Mason,  and  which  records,  with  more  truth  than  most 
epitaphs,  the  private  character  of  this  truly  great  man  : 

"  But  know  that  more  than  genius  slumbers  here  : 

Virtues  were  his  which  art's  best  powers  transcend  ; 
Come,  ye  superior  train,  who  these  revere. 

And  weep  the  Christian,  husband,  father,  friend." 


242  Notes 

•♦^  The  want  of  comfort,  inseparable  from  a  house  in  an 
exposed  situation,  even  in  the  climate  of  Italy,  is  well  illus- 
trated by  Catullus  : 

"  Furi  !    villula  nostra,  non  ad  Austri 
Flatus  opposita  est,  nee  ad  Favoni, 
Nee  saevi  Boreae,  aut  Apeliotae  ; 
Verum  ad  millia  quindecim  et  ducentos. 
O  ventum  horribilem  !  atque  pestilentem  !  " 

Catullus,  Ode  26. 

My  cottage,  Furius,  is  not  exposed  to  the  blasts  of  the 
South,  nor  to  those  of  the  West,  nor  to  the  raging  North,  nor 
to  the  Southeast ;  but  to  fifteen  thousand  two  hundred  blasts. 
Oh,  that  horrible  and  pestilent  wind  ! 

"^^  [In  1832,  the  property  on  which  Michel  Grove  stood 
was  purchased  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  added  to  the 
domain  of  Arundel  Castle.  The  house  was  pulled  down  and 
the  materials  sold.  —  J.  C.  L.] 

^^  C'est  par  une  suite  de  cet  usage  de  voir  et  d'entendre 
par  les  yeux  et  les  oreilles  de  I'habitude,  sans  se  rendre  raison 
de  rien,  que  s'est  etablie  cette  maniere  de  couper  sur  le  meme 
patron  la  droite  et  la  gauche  d'un  batiment.  On  appelle  cela 
de  la  symetrie  ;  Le  Notre  I'a  introduite  dans  les  jardins,  et 
Mansard  dans  les  batiments,  et  ce  qu'il  y  a  de  curieux,  c'est  que 
lorsqu'on  demande  a  quoi  bon  ?  aucun  expert  Jure  ne  peut  le 
dire  ;  car  cette  sacree  symetrie  ne  contribue  en  rien  a  la  solidite 
ni  a  la  commodite  des  batiments,  et  loin  qu'elle  contribue  a 
leur  agrement,  il  n'y  a  si  habile  peintre  qui  puisse  rendre  sup- 
portable dans  un  tableau  un  batiment  tout  plattement  syme- 
trique.  Or,  il  est  plus  que  vraisemblable  que  si  la  copie  est 
ressemblante  et  mauvaise,  Toriginal  ne  vaut  gueres  mieux, 
d'autant  qu'en  general  tous  les  desseins  de  fabriques  font  plus 
d'effet  en  peinture  qu'en  nature. 

C'est  done  I'efFet  pittoresque  qu'il  faut  principalement 
chercher  pour  donner  aux  batiments  le  charme  par  lequel  ils 
peuvent  seduire  et  fixer  les  yeux.  Pour  y  parvenir,  il  faut 
d'abord  choisir  le  meilleur  point  de  vue  pour  developper  les 
objets ;  et  tacher,  autant  qu'il  est  possible,  d'en  presenter  plu- 
sieurs  faces. 


Notes  243 


C'est  a  donner  de  la  saillie  et  du  relief  a  toutes  les  formes, 
par  I'opposition  des  renfoncemens  et  par  un  beau  contraste 
d'ombre  et  de  lumiere;  c'est  dans  un  juste  rapport  des  propor- 
tions et  de  la  convenance  avec  tous  les  objets  environnans, 
qui  doivent  se  presenter  sous  le  meme  coup  d'oeil ;  c'est  a  bien 
disposer  tous  les  objets  sur  difterens  plans,  de  maniere  que 
I'effet  de  la  perspective  semble  donner  du  movement  aux  dif- 
ferentes  parties  dont  les  unes  paroissent  eclairees,  les  autres 
dans  I'ombre  ;  dont  les  unes  paroissent  venir  en  avant,  tandis 
que  les  autres  semblent  fuir  ;  enfin,  c'est  a  la  composer  de 
belles  masses  dont  les  ornements  et  les  details  ne  combattent 
jamais  I'efFet  principal  que  doit  s'attacher  essentiellement 
I'architecture. 

Les  anciens  I'avoient  si  bien  senti  qu'ils  ne  se  sont  jamais 
occupees  dans  leur  constructions,  que  de  la  grande  masse,  de 
maniere  que  les  plus  precieux  ornements  sembloient  se  con- 
fondre  dans  I'effet  general,  et  ne  contrarioient  jamais  I'objet 
principal  de  I'ensemble,  qui  annon^oit  toujours  au  premier 
coup  d'oeil,  par  son  genre  et  ses  proportions,  le  caractere  et  la 
destination  de  leur  edifices. 

[It  is  in  consequence  of  this  habit,  of  seeing  and  hearing 
with  the  eyes  and  ears  of  custom  and  prejudice,  without  consid- 
ering the  reason  of  anything,  that  the  practice  of  designing  the 
right  and  left  of  a  building  to  the  same  pattern  has  arisen.  This 
is  called  symmetry ;  Le  Notre  introduced  it  in  gardens  and 
Mansard  in  buildings  ;  and  what  is  singular  is  that  if  any  one 
asks  to  what  purpose  is  it  so  ?  no  adept  in  the  art  can  tell ; 
for  this  detestable  symmetry  contributes,  in  no  degree,  either 
to  the  solidity  or  convenience  of  the  buildings  :  and  so  far  is  it 
from  contributing  to  their  beauty  that  there  is  no  painter,  how- 
ever skilful  he  may  be,  who  can  render  a  building,  insipidly  sym- 
metrical, tolerable  in  a  picture.  Now,  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  if  the  copy,  though  a  good  likeness,  be  bad,  the  original  is 
no  better,  —  inasmuch  as,  in  general,  all  drawings  of  buildings 
have  more  effect  in  a  painting  than  in  nature. 

It  is  picturesque  effect  that  must  principally  be  sought  for,  in 
order  to  give  to  buildings  the  charm  necessary  to  attract  and 


244 


Notes 


rivet  the  eye.  For  this  purpose  a  point  of  view  should  be  chosen 
which  appears  the  best  for  shewing  all  the  objects ;  and  the 
building  should  be  so  contrived  as  to  present  as  many  sides  as 
possible  at  once. 

It  is  in  giving  prominence  and  relief  to  the  principal  forms, 
by  the  opposition  afforded  by  the  others,  and  by  a  fine  contrast 
of  shade  and  light  ;  it  is  in  an  accurate  adjustment  of  the  propor- 
tions of  the  buildings  to  those  of  the  surrounding  objects,  which 
will  be  seen  in  the  same  coup  d'ceil;  it  is  in  placing  the  objects 
on  different  levels,  so  that  the  effect  of  the  perspective  may 
seem  almost  to  give  movement  to  the  different  parts,  of  which 
some  will  appear  in  strong  light  and  others  in  the  shade,  some 
will  be  brought  prominently  forward  and  others  seem  as  though 
retiring  ;  in  short,  it  is  in  composing  beautiful  masses,  of  which 
the  ornaments  and  details  never  interfere  with  the  principal 
effect,  that  the  great  art  of  architecture  consists. 

The  ancients  understood  this  so  well  that  in  their  buildings 
the  general  mass  only  was  taken  into  consideration,  so  that  the 
most  costly  ornaments  seemed  to  be  absorbed  in  the  general 
effect,  and  were  never  at  variance  with  the  principal  object  of 
the  whole,  which  always  announced,  at  first  sight,  by  its  style 
and  proportions,  the  character  and  destination  of  their  edifices.] 

■♦5  This  remark  concerning  our  finest  prospects  being  to- 
wards the  west  has  been  so  often  confirmed  by  repeated  ob- 
servations that  I  have  endeavoured  to  discover  some  natural 
cause  for  its  general  prevalence ;  and  perhaps  it  may,  in  some 
degree,  be  accounted  for  from  the  general  position  of  the  strata 
in  all  rocky  countries,  which  appear  to  dip  towards  the  east  and 
rise  towards  the  west ;  in  one  direction,  the  view  is  along  an 
inclined  plane ;  in  the  other,  it  is  taken  from  the  edge  of  a 
cliff,  or  some  bold  promontory  overlooking  the  country  towards 
the  west. 

*^  It  has  occasionally  been  objected  to  Gothic  houses  that 
the  old  form  of  windows  is  less  comfortable  than  modern 
sliding  sashes  ;  not  considering  that  the  square  top  to  a  win- 
dow is  as  much  a  Gothic  form  as  a  pointed  arch,  and  that  to 
introduce  sash-frames,  as  at  Donnington,  we  have  only  to  sup- 


Notes  245 


pose  the  mullions  may  have  been  taken  out  without  injuring 
the  general  effect  of  the  building ;  while,  in  some  rooms,  the 
ancient  form  of  window  with  large  mullions  may  be  preserved. 
Those  who  have  noticed  the  cheerfulness  and  magnificence 
of  plate-glass  in  the  large  Gothic  windows  of  Cashiobury  and 
Cobham  will  not  regret  the  want  of  modern  sashes  in  an  an- 
cient palace. 

47  THEORY  OF    COLOURS   AND    SHADOWS 

By  the  Rev.  Dr.  Milner,  F.R.S. 
DEAN     OF     CARLISLE,     AND     PRESIDENT    OF    QUEEn's    COLLEGE,     CAMBRIDGE 

1.  Several  years  ago  some  curious  questions  concerning  the 
colours  of  the  shadows  of  bodies  were  proposed  to  me  by  an 
ingenious  and  philosophical  friend,  who  himself  can  paint  very 
well,  and  is  an  excellent  judge  of  colours.  He  first  mentioned 
the  following  facts  : 

2.  Supposing  a  piece  of  writing-paper  to  be  weakly  illumined 
by  white  light,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  have  a  strong  red  light 
thrown  upon  it  by  any  contrivance,  the  shadow  upon  the  paper, 
of  a  body  placed  in  the  said  red  light,  will  be  green. 

3.  Or,  vice  versa^  if  a  strong  green  light  be  thrown  upon  the 
same  paper,  the  shadow  of  a  body  placed  in  the  green  light  will 
be  red. 

4.  Under  similar  circumstances,  the  shadow  of  a  body  inter- 
cepting orange-coloured  light  will  be  blue,  purple,  or  almost 
violet,  according  as  the  orange  light  contains  more  or  less  red; 
and  vice  versa. 

5.  And  lastly,  the  shadow  of  a  body  which  intercepts  yellow 
light  will  be  purple,  and  vice  versa. 

6.  The  phenomena  just  mentioned  may  be  exhibited  in  sev- 
eral ways.  The  weak  white  light  may  always  be  had  in  a  dark 
room,  either  by  admitting  a  small  portion  of  daylight  or  by 
means  of  a  small  lamp  or  wax  taper,  the  light  of  which  is 
sufficiently  white  for  the  purpose;  and  in  regard  to  the  strong 
coloured  lights,  they  are  also  easily  procured,  either  by  using 


24-6 


Notes 


transmitted  or  reflected  light  of  the  particular  colour  wanted. 
As  candles  and  lamps  are  always  at  hand  and  solar  rays  not  so, 
I  will  here  briefly  describe  the  method  of  shewing  any  one, 
and,  consequently,  all,  of  these  beautiful  experiments  by  candle- 
light. 

7.   L,  M,  N,  o  [in  Fig.  27]  is  a  piece  of  white  paper,  illum- 
ined as  in  the  figure ;   d  is  a  small  cylinder  of  wood,  as  a  black 


A  smaU  #A|  A 

taper  burn-      ■^'^>^*Sf;^ 
ing  clear 


Fig.  27. 


lead  pencil,  or  even  one's  finger,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  pro- 
duce the  respective  shadows  d  v  and  D  K;  c  being  a  piece 
of  red  glass  in  this  experiment. 

8.  If,  instead  of  red  glass,  a  piece  of  green  glass  be  placed  at 
c,  then  the  shadow  d  v  will  no  longer  be  green,  but  of  a  red- 
dish cast ;  and  so  of  the  rest  as  mentioned  above,  at  section  3. 

9.  My  friend  was  very  desirous  that  I  should  endeavour 
to  account  for  these  beautiful  and  most  extraordinary  appear- 
ances ;  with  this  view,  I  first  observe  that  the  burning  lights, 
A  and  B,  when  the  experiments  are  made  without  daylight,  may 
be  reckoned  nearly  white,  particularly  if  they  are  made  to  burn 
without  smoke,  though,  in  reality,  they  are  yellowish,  or  even 
orange-coloured  sometimes,  as  is  very  plain  when  they  are 
compared  with  strong  daylight. 

10.  Secondly,  white  light  is  well  known  to  consist  of  sev- 
eral other  colours,  as  red,  orange,  yellow,  green,  blue,  purple, 


Notes  247 


and  violet;  and,  further,  as  violets  and  purples,  vi^ith  all  their 
varieties,  may  be  imitated  by  mixing  blue  and  red  in  different 
proportions,  and  as  green  also  may  be  compounded  m  a  sim- 
ilar way  by  mixing  blue  and  yellow,  and  orange  by  mixing 
red  and  yellow,  we  need  not  attend  to  more  than  the  three 
primary  colours,  red,  yellow,  and  blue ;  for,  in  fact,  it  is  found 
that  by  mixing  these  three  colours  in  certain  proportions,  a  sort 
of  white,  or  any  colour  may  be  formed  ;  and  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  if  we  had  colours  equal  in  brilliancy  to  the 
prismatic  colours,  the  white  so  formed  would  be  perfect. 

11.  This  last  observation  shews  us  that  white  may  be 
considered  as  made  up  even  of  two  colours  only,  and  we  shall 
find  it  very  convenient,  in  the  explanation  of  the  phenomena 
in  question,  to  consider  white  as  so  made  up,  namely,  of  red 
and  green,  of  yellow  and  purple,  or  of  blue  and  orange.  These 
colours  are  called  contrasts  to  each  other  respectively  :  their 
apparent  brilliancy,  when  they  are  placed  contiguous  to  each 
other,  is  promoted  in  a  remarkable  manner,  but  they  cannot 
be  mixed  together  without  mutual  destruction  to  their  natural 
properties,  and  an  approach  to  a  white  or  a  grey  colour. 

12.  To  understand  the  experiment  above  represented  on  the 
paper,  we  are  first  to  consider  the  nature  of  the  shadow  D  v 
green,  as  it  is  in  appearance  ;  that  is,  we  are  to  consider  what 
kind  of  light  or  lights  can  possibly  come  to  this  portion  of  the 
paper  which  we  call  the  shadow  D  v ;  and  here  it  is  plain  that 
this  space  d  v  is  illumined  only  by  the  white  light '  (I  will 
call  it)  which  comes  from  the  small  taper  a,  directly,  and  also 
by  a  small  quantity  of  white  light  from  b,  not  directly,  but  by 
reflection  from  the  sides  of  the  room  or  from  other  objects. 
The  direct  red  light  coming  from  b,  through  the  red  glass  c, 
is  intercepted  by  D ;  and  the  small  quantity  of  this  red  light 
which  can  arrive  at  the  space  D  v  by  reflection  is  not  worth 
mentioning  ;  the  green  shadow  d  v,  therefore,  is  illumined  by 

'  I  call  it  white  light  because  it  is  nearly  so,  and  because  it  answers  all  the  purposes 
of  perfectly  white  light  in  such  an  experiment,  supposed  to  be  made  in  a  room  without 
daylight.  When  actually  compared  with  daylight,  it  is  found  to  be  yellowish,  or  even 
oran^-e-coloured. 


248  Notes 

a  small  quantity  of  white  light,  and  our  business  is  to  explain 
why  it  should  appear  green  to  the  eye. 

13.  Keep  in  mind  that  the  idea  of  a  perfect  shadow  excludes 
all  light,  and  that  the  space  d  v  is  an  imperfect  shadow,  illum- 
ined, as  we  have  seen,  with  a  small  portion  of  white  light. 
Let  this  small  portion  of  white  light  be  considered  as  made  up 
of  red  light  and  green  light,  according  to  what  has  been  stated 
above,  in  section  12,  and  the  reason  of  the  phenomenon  will 
be  readily  understood.  For  we  must  now  attend  to  the  strong 
red  light  which  passes  through  the  glass  c,  and  covers  the  paper 
everywhere,  except  in  the  space  d  v,  where  it  is  intercepted  : 
the  effect  of  this  strong  light  coming  up  to  the  very  boundaries 
of  the  shadow  d  v  is  such  as  to  incapacitate  the  eye  from 
seeing  at  the  same  time  the  weaker  red  light  contained  in  the 
shadow  D  V,  which  we  have  proved  to  be  really  of  a  weak  dull 
white  colour,  but  which,  because  its  red  light  cannot  be  seen, 
appears  green  to  the  eye, 

14.  This  effect  of  rendering  the  organs  of  perception  insen- 
sible to  weaker  excitations,  by  strongly  exciting  those  organs, 
is  analogous  to  the  constitution  of  the  human  frame  in  many 
instances.  Accustom  the  eye  either  to  much  light  or  to  intense 
colours,  and,  for  a  time,  it  will  hardly  discern  anything  by  a 
dull  light  or  by  feeble  colours,  provided  the  feeble  colours  be 
of  the  same  kind  with  the  previous  strong  ones.  Thus,  after 
it  has  been  excited  by  an  intense  red,  for  example,  it  will,  for 
a  time,  be  insensible  to  weak  red  colours,  yet  it  will  still  easily 
perceive  a  weak  green  or  blue,  etc.,  as  in  the  instance  before  us 
respecting  the  shadow  d  v,  where  the  green  part  of  the  com- 
pound still  affects  the  eye,  after  the  red  has  ceased  to  produce 
any  effect,  owing  to  the  previous  excitation  of  a  stronger  red.' 

'  This  distinction  should  always  be  kept  in  mind,  for,  unless  the  eye  has  been  abso- 
lutely injured  or  weakened  by  excessive  excitation,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  strong 
excitations  of  it,  whether  immediately  preceding  weaker  ones,  or  contemporaneous  with 
them,  much  impro-ve  its  sensibility  in  regard  to  those  weaker  ones,  provided  only  that 
they  be  of  a  different  class.  If  the  eye  has  been  excited  by  a  lively  red  colour,  it  will 
scarcely  perceive  a  weak  red,  but  it  will  perceive  a  weak  green  much  better,  on  account 
of  the  previous  excitation  by  the  strong  red  ;  and  the  reason  maybe  that,  in  looking  at 
a  red  colour,  the  eye  wastes  none  of  that  nervous  sensibility  which  is  necessary  for  its 


Notes  249 


15.  Nor  is  this  the  case  only  with  the  eye:  it  is  the  same 
with  every  other  sense  ;  precise  instances  of  this  kind  in  regard 
to  the  taste,  the  smell,  the  touch,  etc.,  will  occur  plentifully  to 
every  one. 

16.  I  consider  this  solution  of  the  appearances  of  the  col- 
ours as  perfectly  satisfactory.  Here  it  is  applied  only  to  one 
instance,  but  it  is  equally  applicable  to  all  the  rest ;  and  it 
appears  to  me  to  account  for  all  the  difficulties  which  seem 
to  have  embarrassed  Count  Rumford,  in  his  very  ingenious  and 
entertaining  paper  {Phil.  Trans.  1794,  p.  107).  Also  in  Dr. 
Priestley's  History  of  Optics.,  p.  436,  there  is  a  curious  chap- 
ter, containing  the  observations  of  philosophers  on  blue  and 
green  shadows;  the  true  cause  of  these  shadows  is  not,  I  think, 
there  mentioned ;  and  it  may  be  entertaining  to  read  that 
chapter  with  these  principles  in  the  mind. 

17.  When  the  sun  has  been  near  setting  on  a  summer  even- 
ing, I  have  often  observed  most  beautiful  blue  shadows  upon 
a  white  marble  chimney-piece.  In  this  case,  the  weak  white 
light  of  the  evening,  which  illumines  the  shaded  part  of  the 
marble,  is  to  be  considered  as  compounded  of  two  colours, 
orange  and  blue.  The  direct  orange  rays  of  the  sun  at  this 
time  render  the  orange  part  invisible,  and  leave  the  blue  in 
perfection. 

1 8.  And  in  the  same  way  is  to  be  explained  that  beautiful 
and  easy  experiment  mentioned  by  Count  Rumford  (p.  103, 
Phil.  Trans.  1794,)  where  a  burning  candle  in  the  daytime 
produces  two  shadows,  and  one  of  them  of  a  most  beautiful 
blue  colour.  The  experiment  is  the  more  valuable,  as  it  may 
be  made  at  any  time  of  the  day  with  a  burning  candle.  Almost 
darken  a  room,  and  then  by  means  of  a  lighted  candle  and 
a  little  daylight  produce  two  shadows  of  any  small  object,  as  of 

seeing  a  green  colour ;  and  the  same  reasoning  holds  in  all  other  cases  where  the  colours 
are  contrasts  to  each  other.  For  such  colours  seem  incapable  of  mixing  with  each  other, 
in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  as  when  red  and  yellow  are  mixed  together,  and  pro- 
duce a  compound  evidently  partaking  of  the  obvious  properties  of  the  two  ingredients. 
When  contrasts  are  mixed  together,  as  red  and  green,  these  colours  seem  destructive 
of  each  other,  and  effect  a  compound  approaching  to  whiteness.  Similar  observations 
may  be  made  on  the  other  senses. 


■5^ 


Notes 


a  pencil,  etc.,  one  from  the  candle,  and  another  from  the  day- 
light received  at  a  small  opening  of  one  of  the  window-shut- 
ters ;  the  light  of  the  candle  will  appear  orange-coloured  in  the 
daytime,  and  so  will  that  shadow  of  the  body  which  belongs 
to  or  is  made  by  the  daylight;  but  the  shadow  of  the  body 
made  by  the  candle  will  surprise  any  person,  by  being  of  a  fine 
blue. 

19.  More  than  once  I  have  been  agreeably  struck  with  this 
appearance,  produced  unintentionally  when  I  have  been  writnig 
by  candle-light  on  a  winter's  morning  ;  upon  the  daylight  being 
let  in,  the  shadow  of  my  pen  and  fingers  in  the  orange-light 
of  the  candle,  were  beautifully  blue. 

20.  I  suppose  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  harmony  of 
colours,  of  which  painters  speak  so  much  ;  according  to  the 
explanation  here  given,  our  key  to  the  solution  of  every  case 
of  harmony  and  of  contrast  is  to  consider  what  is  the  other 
colour,  simple  or  compound,  which,  joined  to  a  given  one, 
simple  or  compound,  will  constitute  white.  Thus  red  requires 
green  ;  yellow,  purple  ;  blue,  orange  ;  and  vice  versa^  the  mix- 
tures in  proper  proportions  will  be  white. 

21.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  (prop.  6,  part  2,  of  book  i.  Optics) 
has  given  a  method  forjudging  of  the  colour  of  the  compound 
in  any  known  mixture  of  primary  colours,  but  it  is  not  easy, 
even  for  mathematicians,  to  put  his  rules  in  practice.  The 
gentleman  who  consulted  me  on  this  subject  of  shadows  has 
been  accustomed,  for  a  long  time,  to  assist  his  memory,  when 
he  is  painting,  by  the  use  of  the  simple  diagram  [Fig.  28]. 
Let  R,  Y,  B  represent  the  three  uncompounded  colours,  red, 
yellow,  blue ;  and  let  o,  G,  P  represent  the  compounds  orange, 
green,  and  purple  ;  it  is  evident  that,  to  make  a  deeper  orange, 
we  must  add  more  red ;  and  to  make  a  bluer  green,  we  must 
add  more  blue  ;  and  to  make  the  purple  redder,  we  must  add 
more  red,  and  vice  versa :  but  besides  this,  the  diagram  puts  us 
in  mind  that  G  is  the  contrast  to  R,  and  that,  therefore,  those 
two  colours  cannot  be  mixed  without  approaching  to  a  dull 
whiteness  or  greyness  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  Y  and  p 
and  of  B  and  o.  These  colours  are  also  contrasts  to  each  other ; 


Notes  251 

by  mixture  they  destroy  each  other,  and  produce  a  whiteness, 
or  greyness,  according  as  they  are  more  or  less  perfect ;  but 
when  kept  distinct,  they  are  found  to  make  each  other  look 
more  brilliant  by  being  brought  close  together :  and  all  this  is 
agreeable  to  what  is  said  in  section  11,  and  in  the  note  to 
section  14. 

22.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  observes  that  he  had  never  been  able 
to  produce  a  perfect  white  by  the  mixture  of  only  two  primary 


Fig.  28. 


colours,  and  seems  to  doubt  whether  such  a  white  can  be  com- 
pounded even  of  three.  He  tells  us  that  one  part  of  red  lead 
and  five  parts  of  verdigris  composed  a  dun  colour,  like  that 
of  a  mouse ;  but  there  is  nothing  in  all  this  which  militates 
agamst  the  explanation  here  given  of  the  cause  of  the  coloured 
shadows  of  bodies  ;  for  even  supposing  that  there  did  not  exist 
in  nature  any  two  bodies  of  such  colours  as  to  form  perfect 
whiteness  by  their  mixture,  or,  to  go  still  further,  supposing 
that  no  two  prismatic  colours  of  the  sun  could  form  a  com- 
pound perfectly  white,  still  the  facts  and  reasonings  here  stated 
respecting  the  mixtures  of  such  colours  as  are  called  contrasts 
are  so  near  the  truth  that  they  furnish  a  satisfactory  account 
of  the  appearances  of  the  colours  of  the  shadows  which  we 
have  been  considering.  The  terms  by  which  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  denominate  colours  have  not  a  very  accurate  or  precise 


252  Notes 


meaning,  and  particularly  those  terms  which  denote  colours 
that  are  known  to  be  mixtures  of  others,  as  green,  purple,  and 
orange.  Neither  the  prismatic  green  nor  the  colour  of  any 
known  green  body  may,  perhaps,  combine  with  red  so  as  to 
make  actually  an  accurate  white,  and  yet  the  existence  or 
composition  of  such  a  green  may  not  be  impossible.  The 
philosophical  reader  will  clearly  perceive  that  no  argument 
of  any  weight  can  be  drawn  from  considerations  of  this  sort 
against  this  theory  of  coloured  shadows. 

23.  Every  one  knows  that  red  colours  and  yellow  colours 
mixed  together,  in  different  proportions,  produce  orange  col- 
ours of  various  kinds  :  also  that  reds  and  blues  produce  purples 
and  violets ;  and,  lastly,  that  blues  and  yellows  produce  greens 
in  great  variety  ;  but  it  is  not  so  generally  known  that  green, 
purple,  and  orange  colours  are,  as  it  were,  almost  annihilated 
by  mixture,  and  much  improved  by  contiguity  with  red,  yel- 
low, and  blue  colours  respectively. 

The  little  diagram  [Fig.  28]  suggests  all  these  things  to 
the  memory,  and  a  great  many  more  of  the  same  kind  ;  and, 
therefore,  must  be  extremely  useful  to  the  artist  who  is  endeav- 
ouring to  produce  certain  effects  by  contrast,  harmony,  etc., 
but  it  should  always  be  carefully  remembered  that  it  contributes 
nothing  to  the  proof  of  any  of  the  truths  here  advanced;  the 
proof  rests  upon  the  reasons  given  for  each  of  them  respect- 
ively. 


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